


The Ones Who Were Left Behind

by ContreParry



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2018-10-30 12:03:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 65,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10876407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ContreParry/pseuds/ContreParry
Summary: The paladins may be lost across the universe, but their loved ones back home have not forgotten them.





	1. Colleen

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by [Mama Holt's Army](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8465635/chapters/19394989) by [squirenonny](http://archiveofourown.org/users/squirenonny/pseuds/squirenonny). Their story is excellent and inspired me to write my own "families of the paladins" story.

Colleen Holt had a rough year.

She had been through rough times before. Being the only child of perfectionist parents was never easy. She had to be perfect. She always had to be perfect. The perfect child, the perfect student, the perfect daughter. Colleen worked hard to be perfect.

But at night, Colleen would climb up on the roof of her San Francisco home and peer up at the stars. The vastness of the universe should have been frightening, but all she could think was that in a universe so large, her perfection didn’t matter. The universe didn’t care if she couldn’t name the capital of North Dakota (Bismarck) or what the state bird of New Mexico was (roadrunner). The universe wasn’t perfect: it just was.

Colleen wasn’t allowed to pursue science. It was not lady like, her mother sniffed, and she was sent to her books. She wore her dresses and studied her English and Math and watched the cold stars and hoped someday it would be worth it.

High school was Hell. She suffered alone as the quiet bookworm wallflower and captain of the Debate Team in high school. It was a miracle that she managed to get named “Most Likely To Succeed” in Senior year, because she was sure she was in the running for “Most Likely to Die Alone and Be Eaten By Her Cats.” College was worse, alone across the country surrounded by beautiful, confident girls who knew who they were- God she hated college! Then there was law school, and the bar exam, and then working all the time to make a name for herself as an attorney. She was the perfect daughter. Her parents wouldn’t stop bragging. She was paraded around as a success, the attorney daughter of a doctor and a socialite, the perfect offspring of perfect parents. The Christmas two years after she was promoted to a junior partner in her firm was the worst, with the endless parade of visitors and her mother’s idea of perfect partners- all the other pretentious young lawyers and neurosurgeons and businessmen that would make her mother perfect grandchildren with Fischer-Price stamped on their asses.

Colleen wanted to scream.

That Christmas, Colleen met the love of her life.

She met Sam at an astronomy luncheon and lecture. She might be a lawyer, but Colleen never forgot the San Fran night sky and the vastness of the universe. When the young scientist with the messy sandy hair (premature grey at the temples) and the big glasses that slipped down his nose rose to give his lecture, Colleen shifted in her seat, intrigued. By his second sentence on the mysteries of the solar system and stars and the beauty of what couldn’t be understood, Colleen was in love.

Sam Holt was a dreamer, an easy going man from the cornfields of the Midwest with a heart and dreams to match the flat vastness of those fields. Colleen cornered him after the lecture and began to grill him for more information, more answers, more of his ideas. She unconsciously became the lawyer again, but Sam Holt smiled his easy smile and invited her out for coffee.

“You’ve got a thirst for knowledge, and I’m happy to help you search.” Sam said, and Colleen never looked back.

Mother and Father didn’t approve. Colleen didn’t give a damn. She married Sam a year later, and she was proud and pleased and very, very smug. Fuck you, Mother, she thought as she and Sam took a honeymoon to Florida to run around Cape Canaveral and swim in the ocean and go to Disney because she had never been allowed to have a silly vacation in her life. Then there was Matt, and later Katie, and Colleen was happy. It was messy and imperfect and exactly what she wanted out of life.

When Sam was selected to go on the Kerberos mission, she was so proud. When Matt was selected to join him, she was near bursting with pride. They could go out and have their dream, exploring space and learning more about the world. She had a family of inquisitive explorers and she was happy and proud and sad because she would miss them terribly. 

The party before the mission was a fine one. Everyone was in high spirits. One of Matt’s classmates, a young woman with a wicked grin, danced with everyone at the event, pulling Colleen and Katie and several very severe looking officials into a wild dance off before waltzing off with the mission pilot’s grandfather. The pilot, a polite young man who Matt called Shiro, laughed and smiled and drew the fisheye lenses of every camera in the room. Even Katie, who hated socializing, had fun with her older brother and hacked the speaker system to play their terrible music. It was a great party. Colleen could almost forget how lonely she’d be when the shuttle launched, but sometimes it hit her and hit her hard.

When it was over and they were in their hotel room, Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulders and comforted her.

“Look up at the stars, Colleen. We’ll be up there waving down at you and Katie.” He promised. And Colleen promised she would always look up as long as she had eyes to see, and longer than that.

Months later the Kerberos mission was officially branded a failed mission. Shuttle lost. Pilot failure. Her husband, her son, that poor young pilot, all lost on a cold distant moon. It was a closed casket funeral with empty coffins, and she stood next to her daughter and a dozen other mourners as some general spoke about sacrifice and science and furthering the cause. She didn’t remember much- there was the pilot’s grandfather, stern faced and decked out in full military garb. There was Matt’s classmate, red eyed and silent, her black hair bound back in a severe bun. There was Katie, wide eyed and shocked, but there was an angry gleam in her eyes.

The law office gave her a few months off. You’ve had your fair share of shit, Colleen, her partner said. You can take a break. But she couldn’t. Her mind spun like a mad hamster wheel. Katie couldn’t rest either. She kept hacking into Galaxy Garrison’s servers, and when she had been kicked off the premises for a third and final time Colleen had enough.

“Katie, what’s going on?” Colleen asked as they drove away from that desert facility again. They passed piñon and sagebrush and the red orange mesas, and Colleen wondered how her daughter managed to get out here on her own again. She couldn’t even drive yet. Officially. Sam probably taught her years ago. Inquisitive minds. Sam. Matt. Katie. Her explorers.

“They’re hiding things, Mom.” Katie said. “You know it too!”

“I haven’t broken into a government facility.” Colleen said. What was worse? Her husband and son being dead, or them being alive and the military hiding the truth in a coverup? The thought haunted her.

“You haven’t yet.” Katie muttered, but one sharp look silenced her. “Mom, I found transmissions from Kerberos in their files.”

“Transmissions.” Colleen said flatly. Transmissions from Kerberos. A broken shuttle didn’t send transmissions back to Earth.

“Dad and Matt landed. It wasn’t pilot failure!” Katie exclaimed. “Whatever happened, it wasn’t some accident. It was something else.”

Colleen knew what Katie wanted. Katie was her daughter. She would always know what her daughter wanted. Colleen pulled over on that dusty desert highway.

“You want to investigate.” She said flatly. Normally she wouldn’t be blunt with her child. She would not use the lawyer voice. But circumstances change, and Katie was old enough to be taken seriously.

“Mom, I can do this.” Katie promised, eyes fierce. Matt’s eyes. Sam’s eyes. And Colleen, damn her, believed her daughter. She let go of Katie Holt and let Pidge Gunderson (her mother’s maiden name finally good for something) enroll in Galaxy Garrison’s space program.

Katie texted once a week, small, vague texts that let Colleen know her daughter was alive and being very, very careful. She never mentioned other students, her daily routine, or school. It was always “Looking into files” and “Listening to radio waves.” Not informative, and not enough to justify this entire ruse. Katie faked an entire identity and enough medical issues to get a private room and bathroom, and Colleen knew the farce couldn’t last forever. Someone would find out. Someone would discover who Katie was and there would be trouble.

But Katie was determined, and Colleen wasn’t going to stop her. But the guilt made it hard to sleep at night. What if something terrible happened to Katie? Then she would have no one, and it would be all her fault. But what were the chances of Katie getting lost in space as well?

And then Katie disappeared. One text blinked across Colleen’s phone, dated at 11:32 PM, Monday night.

Mom, I was right. Will call later, it’s big.

Colleen drove through the night across state lines to get to the school after she got the call informing her that the Garrison knew her daughter assumed an alias and that she was now missing. The text Katie sent played over and over in her mind as she crossed the Colorado border into New Mexico, drove down the highway through Santa Fe and Albuquerque and then down. A hotel could wait. She wanted answers.

She was about twenty miles away when something small and brown and white darted across the road in the early dawn light. Colleen slammed on the breaks and a roadrunner blinked at her before skittering away. Roadrunner. State bird of New Mexico. Of fucking course. She was half sobbing, half screaming, absolutely hysterical. Roadrunners. Beep beep. Fucking roadrunners.

But she wiped the tears and re-did her makeup and drove on. Her family went missing, and it was God damned time she found out why.


	2. Mark

Mark Garrett married into the Garrett clan. He couldn’t stand his own family, so when he met his wife and her army of sisters, he was eager to jump into a loving family. A kind family. A family that took one look at him and his freckles and pasty skin and skinny limbs and said “Welcome, come sit at our table.” Sure, they gifted him with extra sunscreen and nerdy shirts every Christmas, poked fun at his ‘white man taste buds’ and laughed with him when he attempted to surf, but they loved him. They took care of him. He wasn’t Mark Johnson, nerdy boy in a family of fishermen who never understood or accepted his love of math and science. He was Mark Garrett, their brother in law who married their sister Lani and would always fix their cars and computers and lived for his old cheesy horror flicks. They loved him, and he loved them like the family he always wanted.

He stood as a groomsman for his wife’s sister when she got married, and when she and her wife adopted a son, he promised to be a male role model. He’d be the male figure the kid needed, the one he always wanted when he was growing up. Mark could teach and be an uncle. Never a dad, he couldn’t be a dad, but an uncle? A teacher? A confidante? Mark could do that.

But damn it all, he learned more from his nephew Hunk than he ever taught.

Hunk was a sweet boy. A bit shy and clumsy, and easily spooked by everything, but sweet. Warm and friendly and easy going. Lani wanted to nickname him Hulk for his massive size and muscle, but Kona was his mother along with Elizabeth, and they said Hunk got to choose. But the boy apparently overheard the conversation, thought they said Hunk, and the name stuck.

Mark didn’t like kids normally. He felt awkward when chatting with children. He couldn’t keep up with their chatter and he always felt self conscious when they asked him to play. But Hunk wasn’t like that. He remembered a conversation they had when Hunk was about eight. He had only been with Kona and Elizabeth for a year, and Mark still didn’t know how to be a good uncle. They went to the beach for a family outing/potluck/tradition (fish swam, birds flew, and the Garrett clan went to the beach every nice day). Mark sat under an umbrella and watched his wife swim about in the water when Hunk sat next to him.

“Hey, Kiddo.” Mark said.

“Hey, Uncle Mark.” Hunk replied mournfully. He wrinkled his nose and rubbed some sunscreen on his face.

“How’s it going?” Mark asked. How was he supposed to talk to kids? Like little adults? How’s it going was good, right?

“Mom and Mum say there aren’t sharks in the water.” Hunk said, eyeing the ocean suspiciously. “But that’s a lot of water.”

“It’s pretty clear water.” Mark offered up hesitantly. “Sharks aren’t invisible.”

“Yeah, but they’re sneaky.” Hunk retorted, and Mark couldn’t exactly deny that. He wasn’t a marine biologist, he was an engineer. And even back up on the east coast he never spent time around sharks. But Hunk, as great as the kid was, was always a bit insecure. He always needed that reassurance that things would be alright.

“See that high chair over there?” Mark eventually said, pointing over to the lifeguard.

“Yeah.”

“There’s a guy in that chair, and a lot more guys and girls like him, and they sit and watch the water. They’re pretty good at their jobs, so if a shark comes close they’ll let us know.” Mark explained. That had to be good enough, right?

“But what if they miss one?” Hunk asked. Hunk always asked questions. Bright kid. Probably why Mark liked him more than most children. Hunk was bright and quiet and sweet. Easy to talk to.

“Always a chance.” Mark acknowledged, because he wasn’t about to lie to the kid. “But in the grand scale of things, it’s pretty low on the probability scale.”

“So, like, if there were fifteen of them watching, there’s still a chance. One out of fifteen chance that absolutely no one is watching.” Hunk stressed. He kept looking out at the water, as if he was conflicted. As if the hypothetical shark was the one thing keeping him from splashing around with his moms and aunts.

“Well, you forgot everyone else on the beach and in the water.” Mark said. “And when you calculate probability you’ve got to account for all possibilities.”

“So…. they’re really low odds.” Hunk finally said.

“Really low odds, Hunk.” Mark promised.

“Huh.” Hunk looked out at the water. “Guess it’s pretty safe, then. Good odds.”

“You really like your math, don’t you?” Mark asked. He knew Hunk did well in the subject, and he loved tutoring him and teaching him shortcuts. Hunk was good at it.

“Math’s reliable. It’s like baking.” Hunk explained. “There’s rules and ways to do things, then you can do whatever you want. Make the math go do what you want.”

“Huh. Always felt that way too.” Mark replied, standing up and stepping out of the shade. “Come on, we’ll try swimming and your aunts and moms can make fun of my sunburn again.”

Hunk giggled and reached for Mark’s hand. “You fell asleep with a book on your tummy.”

“Yeah. It’ll be a weird tan when it all peels off.” Mark joked, and they joined the family for another day at the beach.

After that day it was easier to be a role model. Not a parent, but an uncle. To be fair, Hunk made it easy. He wasn’t a fan of horror, but Mark pulled out the cheesy sci fi and these ancient movies of people making fun of even older cheesy sci fi, and they had movie nights. They sat in the garage in the hot summer and worked on building things. Little bottle rockets, transistor radios, small things. They got bigger and bigger as Hunk grew up, and eventually they were reconstructing a hover bike out of old parts Mark collected.

“I’m thinking of joining Galaxy Garrison.” Hunk confessed. “Don’t tell mom?”

“Which one?” Mark asked, mostly a joke, but Hunk frowned and loosened a bolt on the bike.

“Both. Mom won’t like me going mainland. Mum doesn’t like the whole military and danger bits.” Hunk sighed. “But the engineering program is the best in the country.”

“Gotta say, kid, not fond of those bits myself.” Mark didn’t like the idea of his nephew getting stuck in space or fighting some battle. Hunk wasn’t a violent kid. He was too damn nice, the military would chew him up and spit him out.

“Me neither.” Hunk admitted. “But Uncle Mark, what are the odds that something bad happens?”

“Pretty small, Hunk. Pretty small.” Mark replied. “I’ll help you break the news when you get in. Hand me the phelps head screwdriver?”

“Sure.” Hunk handed over the screwdriver. “And Uncle Mark?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Hunk got into Galaxy Garrison, and they were all proud of him. He struggled, of course, but he made friends and was having fun. Not even his anxiety could stop him from being a great engineer. Mark was on a trip to Los Alamos for work and made plans to make a detour and visit his nephew for a day. Sneak him some snacks and see how he was doing. But then Lani called him while he was in the hotel.

“The Garrison called. Hunk’s gone.” Lani said between sobs. Mark heard others in the background, Kona crying and Elizabeth vowing to kick everyone’s arse until they got answers.

“Shit.” Mark muttered as the world seemed to stop turning. “What do mean, gone? Dead?” Not Hunk. Not his movie,  
math, and general nerd buddy. Not his nephew. God no.

“Gone! They said he’s missing and that they’re very sorry- how the fuck do you lose track of a teenager?” Lani exclaimed. “Elizabeth is looking for the next flight to the mainland, but since you’re already close-”

“I scheduled tomorrow off so I could surprise Hunk.” Mark said. “I’ll go down there and we’ll get this sorted out.” There had to be an explanation for this. People don’t vanish without a trace. There had to be something! What were the odds of this happening to Hunk?

What were the odds?

Driving from Los Alamos down to the Garrison was a nightmare. No one on the roads, no road construction, just him and the dark desert highway. Just like that old rock ballad, but there was no breeze in his hair because his rental car wasn’t a convertible and Mark had allergies.

Hunk wasn’t the sort to run off. He. Was. Reasonable. Smart. Why would a kid like Hunk disappear? How did a kid like Hunk disappear? Even when he was quiet people noticed the boy. Mark drove faster, past sagebrush and mesas black against the night sky scattered with stars. The thoughts twisted in his mind as he drove through the desert night.

“Goddamnit, Hunk.” Mark muttered to himself as the lights of the Garrison swam into view. “What are the odds?” He pulled into the checkpoint and greeted the soldier manning the booth. The armed soldier.

“Identification?” The woman asked, and Mark handed over his work ID and license.

“Mark Garrett. My nephew is a cadet here. My family called saying Garrison officials needed to meet with us.”  
Mark explained.

“Mr. Garrett.” The woman handed the license and ID back. “Drive down and take the first right. Third building on the left.”

“Thanks.” Mark drove away. They were expecting him, and that was bad. His hopes that maybe Hunk just got mixed up with his friends and snuck out for a party were slowly dying. This was something big. He slowed to a stop and parked next to a sleek dark blue car. He peered over at the car and noticed an older woman grimly reapplying her makeup, her pearl earrings the perfect classy touch, not a hair out of place. He looked over at the building and noticed more soldiers, more officials, clustered at the top of the steps. Serious big brass, judging by the uniforms, and none of them looked happy. It didn’t seem possible that Hunk caused all this chaos.

Mark sighed. What were the odds?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope this chapter is acceptable!


	3. Akira

Akira Shirogane knew his grandson. Takashi was a quiet boy who always thought before he spoke and watched everything with his dark, intelligent eyes. A born diplomat, his son said proudly, but Akira watched his grandson’s steady hands and careful movements, and he knew Takashi was no diplomat.

He was a pilot.

“Father, he’s ten!” His son protested. They stood in a hangar bay, and his voice bounced off the metal roof and walls. They were the only people there. The other pilots had already flown out before the sun was up.

“It’s just a short flight, and I’ll be the one flying for most of it.” Akira pointed out. He may be old, but he still knew how to fly a plane! His eyes and mind were sharp, and his hands steady. He could still fly.

“Father, he doesn’t know how to fly!” His daughter in law reminded him, as if he had forgotten. The boy had to learn eventually, though, and Akira saw the wistful longing looks on Takashi’s face every time he entered Akira’s office and stared at the photographs of all the planes he flew. He saw his grandson stare at the sky. The boy wanted to fly.

“We can ask Takashi ourselves instead of arguing over it.” Akira said, and the adults turned to quiet Takashi. Calm Takashi. Takashi who was measured and clear headed and spirited all at once.

“I want to fly.” Takashi said, and so Takashi flew.

Akira was proud of his grandson. Takashi was not just a pilot. He was a great pilot. Better than him, certainly, and Akira was proud. Takashi climbed up ever higher into the sky, and Akira knew that his grandson would not be content soaring through the clouds. He wanted to soar through the stars. His son and daughter in law might not approve, but Akira was proud. He was supportive. Takashi let space swallow up his life so he could fly further. His love for the skies and stars strained his relationships on Earth. Takashi didn’t talk to his parents beyond polite phone calls, but Akira always received calls and letters and the occasional visit from his grandson. Pilots always understood each other. They understood the way the sky pulled at them and called to their very souls.

When Akira made his visits to Galaxy Garrison, they would go off base and eat at one of the 24-hour greasy diners scattered across the small town outside of the Garrison. Every once in awhile a waitress recognized Akira, or recognized Takashi from his uniform, and they asked questions about flying and about space. When the waitresses left they would eat their greasy food and talk. Swap pilot stories. Akira never tired of them. Perhaps they were stories Akira experienced himself when he was young, but they always sounded fresh when they came from the mouth of a young pilot. It was like experiencing it all again, just with Takashi's eyes.

“I don’t know if I’m good enough to lead a team.” Takashi confessed one evening over apple pie in one of their favorite diners. “The Garrison is having me mentor a student, and I just- I just don’t know. I’m not making any progress.”

“Oh?” Akira asked, because Takashi never sounded unsure. “Good student? Bad one?”

“Best pilot I’ve worked with.” Takashi said. “But he’s unstable. Angry. Hates everyone. How do you reach someone who is so shut off?”

“Be patient. Listen.” Akira said, and his advice seemed to work. Takashi’s phone calls and visits were full of stories of his peers and his protege. It was Matt built this program, or Patel navigated us through an asteroid belt in the sim, or Keith is the best damn pilot I’ve seen and I’m putting him in the simulator even if it gets me kicked out of Galaxy Garrison. Akira enjoyed every tale, old and new all at once. His grandson would fly far.

Takashi was promoted. He was now the pilot on the first manned flight to Kerberos. He was sailing to the edges of the solar system. No one had flown that far. But Akira Shirogane knew his grandson could fly to Kerberos and beyond it. He sat through the celebrations the week before the shuttle launch and enjoyed his grandson’s excitement. He even let himself have fun and danced to music far too young for his taste and laughed when Takashi’s classmate dragged him out to the dance floor and traded stories of his grandson’s time in the Garrison with stories of his younger days. It was irreverent, wicked humor, and Akira was pleased to be included in the fun. People didn’t include the elderly in on their jokes often. It was nice to laugh.

There was less laughter at the funerals months later, when Galaxy Garrison announced that the Kerberos shuttle was destroyed due to pilot failure. His eyes were dry, but it was hard to stand and listen to a speech about honor and sacrifice when his grandson’s empty casket lay before him. The wife of the scientists on board, the Holts, was surrounded by the space of tragedy. Only her daughter stood next to her, face set in a stony glare as the speaker talked of bravery and sacrifice.  
Takashi’s teasing classmate was sad and somber, and she only whispered condolences while trying not to cry. It was a terrible day.

Takashi knew the risks. He knew there was a chance he wouldn’t come back. He made his peace with it long before that shuttle left Earth. He would have been at peace if space swallowed him whole. 

But Akira knew his grandson. He wouldn’t have crashed the shuttle. He wouldn’t crash, not unless everything went wrong. Though Galaxy Garrison was frustratingly tight lipped, Akira had his sources. He had his friends in the ranks. He knew the shuttle did not fail mechanically. He knew that the Kerberos mission didn’t crash due to pilot error. He knew it didn’t crash at all. It had simply vanished on the surface of Kerberos along with its crew, a ghost ship sailing among the stars. But there was no way of telling the world that the crew was stranded in space and possibly dead, and that Galaxy Garrison was covering it all up. So Akira used his status as a decorated pilot and well respected aviation hero to keep Takashi’s story alive. He demanded answers. He wrote letters. He appeared on talk shows, and he asked questions. What is Galaxy Garrison hiding? Why has there been no official investigation or inquiry? We simply want answers.

We simply want the truth.

A year later he received a phone call from a friend.

“Akira, can’t tell you much, but it’s big.” George said, his voice tinny over the phone. “Three kids from Galaxy Garrison went missing a few days back, and we’ve got a shit ton of wreckage to sort through.” George was a senior engineer on the shuttle program, too old to fly anymore and stuck with a mind too active to retire.

“Another scandal the Garrison wishes to cover up, then.” Akira sighed. It would keep Takashi’s story alive, to speak of more Garrison scandals and cover ups. Akira would take notes and bring up the incident in his next appearance in a month’s time.

“Yeah. But this time they’ve got another Holt involved.” George said. “The little one. The daughter.” The news dropped like a stone in a pond, and the silence rippled out from one phone to the other, filling the space in between.

“Mrs. Holt must be distraught.” Akira said, voice soft. That little girl with the hard eyes. How old was she? Twelve? How did she get into a military facility without anyone noticing? What happened? He thought of the woman, Mrs. Holt. There would be no one to stand with her now. Just emptiness. Space.

“She marched in here this morning and hasn’t left. Apparently she’s sitting in her car waiting for the other families to arrive.” George replied. “Garrison messed with her too many times, I think.”

“It’s nearly noon.” Akira said as he looked out his window, out over the desert and the bright blue sky over the mountains. The mountains were purple in the distance, and radio towers pierced the heavens. The mourning doves cooed in the cottonwood trees. Hoo, roo hoo, hoo, hoo.

“Yeah. Steaming mad, that one. Don’t blame her, though. The Garrison’s taken her family and hasn’t given anyone an explanation.” George sighed. “And I’m all tied up here. Can’t do a damn thing. Whole Garrison is keeping whatever happened under wraps, even from me. You know what they told me? They were testing an experimental craft and it crashed. Bullshit!”

“But you have information.” Akira knew George wouldn’t call just to rant. He might be old, but he wasn’t grumpy or senile yet.

“I have something. Akira. You need to get down here.” George said. “Whatever crashed outside the Garrison, it wasn’t something made by us. Can’t say more than that.”

“Spy plane, perhaps?” Akira suggested.

“It’s not us, Akira. That’s all I can say.” George said ominously. Akira sighed and let his friend be cryptic. Perhaps he was afraid he was being heard. George was always a little paranoid, thinking that his phone was bugged or his conversations recorded. Sometimes Akira wondered how paranoid his old friend really was.

“I will drive down there as soon as I can, George.” They exchanged goodbyes and hung up, and Akira sat down in his armchair and watched the wind rustle through the leaves of the cottonwood tree. Three missing cadets, and one of them was a Holt. No family had that bad of luck, did they? Two other students had gone missing, and George wouldn’t (or couldn’t) say anything more on the subject. Akira slowly lifted himself out of his chair and shuffled towards his bedroom. He stopped at an end table and adjusted the flower vase sitting on it before touching the frame of the photograph. The photo of a young woman in a simple purple kimono smiled up at him, her dark eyes as familiar to him as his own. Those were his son’s eyes and his grandson’s eyes, eyes they inherited from the woman in the picture.

“Well, Reiko.” He greeted the photograph. “I’ve got to go find out the truth about what happened to our grandson.”

Whatever happened, he was going down to Galaxy Garrison today. He was going to find out what happened to his grandson. He was going to find the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to everyone who has read this story! If there's anything I can improve on, please let me know! Thank you!


	4. Maria

Set the candles in the alcove. Arrange them with the others, so crowded, so many prayers from so many people. The kindness of others was a welcome surprise. Maria arranged her candles carefully, each picture of each saint glowing in the reflection of dozens of other candles.

Maria Martinez Vega remembered when Lance was six years old. Lance was a loud, silly, bright boy, always curious about the world and everything in it. He loved playing on the beach and wanted to study dolphins after becoming a ten time gold medal Olympian in swimming. But one day his older sister Isabel and her boyfriend took him to a planetarium, and Lance stopped looking below at the sea and up above to the stars.

“Mama, I will be an astronaut and pilot! I’ll discover a planet and name it after you!” Lance said proudly.

“Perhaps, but what if the planet already has a name?” Maria asked, amused when her middle child pouted and crossed his skinny arms. He pondered the question for some time as Maria checked on the black beans and the chicken.

“I’ll convince them to change it. Your name will be better.” Lance finally declared.

“Whatever you discover, darling, it will be wonderful. Now go get your brothers and sisters, I just finished dinner. And wash your hands with soap and hot water, I know you were digging around in the garden before you came in!” Maria sent him off, and Lance never stopped running.

Rosa offered her prayers to God, Jesus, Mother Mary, and every saint she thought might hear her. Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint of missing items and children. Saint Jude, patron saint of lost causes. Saint Joseph of Cupertino, the patron saint of pilots and (Maria thought with some fondness) poor students.

Lance worked hard, but he was not a good student. He was a smart boy, Maria knew he was. He was driven and brilliant and eager to learn. He could rattle on about the ocean and baseball statistics and space, and it was always interesting and easy to understand because her son knew how to explain everything. But schoolwork did not come easy to her son. His mind often wandered, and when he understood a concept his brain worked it out so fast he sometimes couldn’t get it out of his mouth or down on paper quite right. But Lance worked hard and by the grace of God he was accepted as a pilot candidate in Galaxy Garrison, and he even managed to snag a full scholarship. Even though it was hard, her son accomplished something great.

They had a big dinner the night before Lance left.

“No sneaking off with girls, young man.” Isabel teased. She always teased Lance, even as she took the credit for introducing him to his love of space and flying.

“I’ll have to use a bat to keep the ladies off me!” Lance joked. “Hotshot pilot, dashing good looks- all the chicks’ll be trying to sneak off with me!”

“Sneaking off with boys still counts as sneaking.” Diego piped up with a grin. Lance punched his younger brother in the shoulder, and though the touch was light Diego pretended to wince and opened his mouth to whine. One stern look from Rosa silenced him on the matter.

“No sneaking out, period.” Jorge replied, his stern tone putting the matter to rest. “You will have to work hard, Lance.”

“Course I will, Dad.” Lance said with a smile as he reached out for a plate. “Tostones, please?”

Pray to the saints. O gentle and loving Saint Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy. Most Holy Apostle, Saint Jude Thaddeus, friend of Jesus, I place myself in your care at this time. O Saint Joseph, who was lifted up in faith and who watches the skies. Guide me in this darkness. Guide me, and guide my son.

Lance found friends at the Garrison right away, much to Maria’s relief. Her son was so kind, so big-hearted, so open with his feelings, but he was pushy. He steamrolled and demanded attention, and he flittered from place to place without stopping to breathe. She was just so glad he made friends he could trust and lean on. There was Hunk, his roommate and Lance’s dear friend who helped him study. Later there was Pidge, a younger student and squad partner who Lance was determined to make friends with. But Lance’s favorite topic of conversation, after talking about school, flying, and family, was his dear friend Keith. Oh, her son always talked about Keith.

He’s an amazing pilot, but he has the dumbest hair.

He’s got this stupid frown on his face, dude can’t take a joke.

Keith’s been sneaking extra hours in the sim and he thinks no one notices, but I’m totally gonna catch him.

He eats pizza with ketchup, mom. Who DOES that?!

Maria knew enough about Keith that she nearly asked Lance for a photo to put on her fridge next to the one with Lance and Hunk. Lance sounded curiously subdued one phone call, a few weeks after that terrible shuttle accident. She knew of the pilot (Lance practically worshipped at the feet of Takashi Shirogane), but he didn’t say much. There were less Keith stories after that, and Maria wondered if he got in a fight with his rival/friend. She didn’t push. Lance would tell her what was wrong in his own time. But he never had the chance.

Jorge was the one who took the call. It was nearly four in the morning, and he was closest to the kitchen. He answered the phone, the conversation too quiet for Maria to hear. But when he shuffled back to bed it was as if he had aged twenty years with that call.

“Maria, Lance is missing.” He said, and the world seemed to crumble apart with that call.

Hail Mary, full of grace. Maria prayed as she stepped out of the plane and into the cool air of the airport terminal. It was a long flight from Cuba to New Mexico. She was tired. It was dark out. But she had a long way to go still.

They could not afford tickets for the entire family. They could barely scrape together enough money for one ticket, let alone ten. Jorge’s mother, Estelle, called Father Miguel that morning, who told the parishioners and by that evening there was the money. Enough money for a flight to New Mexico, money for a stay at a hotel, and money for a ticket back home. The generosity of her neighbors brought Maria to tears, and even Jorge’s eyes watered.

“You go, Maria.” Jorge insisted.

“But Jorge.” Maria had never been on a plane before. She never left the country before! It was a terrifying concept to go somewhere she had never been. She had fixed up all the proper travel passports and licenses months ago, when she and Jorge were planning to purchase tickets to see Lance for the winter holidays, but that would have been different. It would have been a surprise for her son, and Jorge would have been there with her. But now she would be alone. Those happy plans were gone now, all the money funneled towards this one ticket, this one visit, this one chance to find out what happened to their son.

“No. I will be too quiet, Maria. They will not answer my questions and ignore me, or give me platitudes to keep me silent. But you will find answers. You will fly around like a mosquito and you may just annoy them and find nothing.” Jorge explained, and Maria opened her mouth to exclaim she was no mosquito and how dare he insult her, but her husband continued to speak, quiet and confident.

“But if there is something strange, something to be discovered, you will be the one to find it, Maria.” Jorge said. “It has to be you.” So Maria went, leaving her family to set off on an adventure to find her son. It was not the adventure she imagined, when she dreamed of flying on a plane and visiting another country.

Maria drove south in a rental car and found herself at the Garrison, only stopping once at a gas station to use the bathroom and grab snacks. Isabel already packed her food (and wasn’t it strange, her daughter acting like a mother?) but Maria saved it. Maybe Lance would have been found now. He would like homemade torticas de moron and croquetas.

Maria eventually pulled into the parking lot in front of an enormous pale building. Three cars waited outside in the parking lot, and beyond those cars were several people. There was an elderly man who stood remarkably straight and tall standing at the top of the stairs as he spoke with several uniformed men and women. There was a younger red haired man, younger than her, sitting on the hood of his car and nervously wringing his hands together. Then there was a woman in a business suit pacing back and forth in front of her car, and she was so polished and put together that Maria felt a little self conscious in her jeans and mended blouse. But she ran a hand through her hair, straightened her necklace, and stepped out of the car.

Hail Mary, full of grace.

O Saint Joseph.

O Saint Anthony.

O Saint Jude.

I seek your guidance in these troubled times. Help guide me.

Help guide my son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I would appreciate any constructive criticism for this chapter, because I would love to hear from readers and learn what I can improve on. Thank you all very much!


	5. Malini

Malini Patel remembered when she first fell in love.

It was in her kindergarten class. A scientist came to school and talked about space. When Malini was six years old she wanted to be an ice skater like her sister, a fairy princess like the pictures in her coloring book, and a doctor like her father. But that astronomer talked about the stars, the planets, the sun, and how everything in the universe was connected, even if no one could quite understand why just yet. What was the speed of the ice compared to the speed of light from the stars? What fairy kingdom compared to the vastness of an uncharted solar system? What doctor could travel into the heart of the universe itself?

Ever since that moment in Mrs. Galligan’s classroom, surrounded by finger paintings and smiling cartoon animals, Malini wanted to do everything she could to fly up among those planets and stars. But Ma and Baba were not as supportive as they could have been. A daughter who wanted so much was troublesome. Who would marry a girl with her head literally up in the clouds? She would be absent and too invested in her work- and no husband would be content with that, grandmother and Ma often liked to say.

“A man wants to squeeze his woman at night, not stare at a picture and squeeze a pillow!” Grandmother chided, but Malini wrote about space and wrote computer programs to navigate between planets because she could, and when she went skating with her sister she dreamed of strapping on her blades and skating across the frozen plains of a distant moon.

“Children need a mother, not a computer screen with their mother’s face on it!” Her Ma despaired, but Malini was unmoved as she gazed up at the stars. She wanted to fly among those stars, and she was going to fly. She patiently filled out the Galaxy Garrison forms and ignored her family as they complained. Ma wailed and sobbed, Grandmother tutted and glared, Baba shook his head, and Asha sighed a lot. Malini still submitted her forms and test scores. She would make it. She would become the best pilot in the school, the best scientist, the best of everything, and then they would see. They would be proud and they would see!

Unfortunately she was partnered with Takashi Shirogane and Matt Holt.

Shiro, as he liked to be called, was the best pilot in his class (and any other class), and there was no way to reach him. Maybe it was an inherited trait, like his dark eyes and pretty face. His grandfather was also an excellent pilot. But Malini couldn’t be the best pilot. She had to settle for second place. It was hard to even resent Shiro for usurping her position because he was so naturally gifted, worked so hard, and was so genuinely kind and generous. Would you hate the afternoon sky for being blue?

Then there was Matt Holt, brilliant and spacey and friendly, a great engineer and sharp mind, and who could possibly resent Matt for being himself? He was so sweet, it would be like being sour to a sunbeam because it simply shines. Malini could never hate Matt. She would have to settle as second best engineer as well. 

But there was always a third position in a crew, and Malini threw herself into the role of navigator and programmer with intensive zeal. Languages came easy, so what was one more language? Code was just another language and she enjoyed speaking it. In this, she was the best in her class. Malini thrived as the navigator, the third leg in the stool that was her, Shiro, and Matt. They suited each other well. She liked them, and with time grew to love them as the brothers she never had. Malini never expected to find two people who lived for space like she did, and she finally belonged.

Then Keith showed up.

 

Malini remembered seeing the kid hanging around the flight simulator and in different classrooms. He was quiet, a little guy, skinny and wide eyed with messy dark hair. He was always slinking around like he expected to get in trouble and get in a fight. He barely spoke, barely interacted with anyone, and always skittered off to who knows where to do who knows what. All the cadets spoke of him like he was already a legend: top sim scores (if you took out the outlier that was Takashi Shirogane), brilliant instincts, and reflexes that put everyone to shame. But he was aloof and a bad boy, arrogant and cold.

But he was apparently the best pilot of his class, best pilot in the Garrison right under Shiro. Behavior problems be damned, the Garrison wanted him to succeed. They gave him over to Shiro as part of some mentorship program.

Malini and Matt teased Shiro at first, mostly because he took his responsibility so seriously. He was such a Dad, and when he wasn’t doing his own schoolwork and projects he was busy working on lesson plans. But the teasing dropped off quickly because Shiro was clearly frustrated and not making any progress with his protege.

“I can’t reach him.” Shiro said one day after another session in the simulator. “I get him in the simulator, he’ll fly, he starts opening up during the flight, and then as soon as it’s over he’s gone again.”

“Is he causing trouble?” Matt asked. “Not listening to you?”

“He shuts down and won’t talk to me.” Shiro sighed. “Maybe I should give up.”

“Let me talk to him. You made friends with me, this Keith kid can’t be nearly as awful as I was.” Malini suggested. Shiro was probably being too soft, not pushing enough. Sometimes people needed a push to make progress. She was someone who needed pushing. Keith could be the same.

“It couldn’t hurt to try.” Shiro said, and that’s how it started. The next week Shiro knocked on her door, interrupting a call her sister made to complain about her upcoming engagement party. Malini was grateful for the interruption, and hung up after promising Asha that she’d call her back later. She opened the door to her room and looked up at Shiro, and then to the hunched up figure behind him.

“Malini, can we borrow you for the simulator for a bit?” Shiro asked politely. “We need a navigator.”

“Sure. You guys just saved me from a bitch-fest about wedding sarees.” Malini explained as she grabbed her key card and locked up behind her. “Ma wants Asha to wear hers, but it’s old as fuck so Asha’s upset, and Ma is being such a maharani over a fucking saree! Baba won’t do anything because we should respect Ma, and Asha doesn’t want trouble so she’d wear it just to keep Ma happy even if she’s miserable, so I’Il have to be the disrespectful bitch again and put Ma in her place-”

“Language, Malini.” Shiro scolded, even though he gave her a sympathetic smile. She smiled back and felt the stress from her quarreling family melt away. Flying. Space flight sim. Much more relaxing than wedding talk.

“Yes Father.” Malini glanced over to their silent shadow, who was following them at a close enough distance to be part of the group but far enough away to be separate from them. “Does Papa Shiro monitor your language too, kid?”

Keith shrugged and shrunk down further into himself. Malini could hardly believe that was possible but there he was, small and as curled up as a cat. Or maybe a turtle. Where was the rumored arrogance? The cold behavior? Keith seemed more overwhelmed by conversation than above it. Malini tried another tactic.

“I’m going to say yes because Shiro is such a dad. He’d put my Baba to shame.” Malini said, trying to get some sort of reaction from Keith. There was barely a response, but she could have sworn the kid’s mouth twitched into something that might have been a smile. But it was gone as soon as they entered the training bay and the simulation pod. Malini made herself comfortable in the navigator’s seat, buckling her harness in and tying her hair back into a low tail.

“I’m only a few months older than you, Patel, I’m hardly a dad!” Shiro replied, and he sat down in the co-pilot seat. Most teams were pilot, engineer, and navigator, but Matt was probably tutoring another student and there was always room for a co-pilot. Keith gingerly sat down in the pilot’s chair, as if he couldn't believe he was the one sitting there.

“You tell corny dad jokes and drink coffee without sugar. You came out of your mama’s womb as a thirty year old man.” Malini retorted as she turned on the computers at her station. “So what will we be doing today, Otou-san?”

“Do I need to ground you? Dads can do that, right?” Shiro asked Keith the last question, and the kid’s shoulders moved in a sort of shrug.

“No, we’re good. So what mission did you want to run today?” Malini asked. Shiro turned to his silent protege.

“Keith?”

“I get to pick?” Keith said, the first words he had spoken since Shiro came by to pick her up. He sounded surprised, and there was a sort of vulnerable tone to his voice that made him seem like a lost boy instead of a hotshot pilot. Malini wondered how this kid could possibly have a discipline problem when he was so obviously shy. Iverson probably took silence for insubordination. Asshole.

“If Shiro says you get to pick, take it.” Malini advised. “He’s super controlling about missions.”

“I- We’ll fly through the third simulation. The asteroid belt, to pick up a damaged satellite from Jupiter’s orbit.” Keith’s voice wavered slightly, as if he wasn’t used to speaking authoritatively (or even speaking).

“Good choice!” Malini said, hoping some praise would bolster this kid’s confidence. “One of my favorites.”

“Yeah.” Keith mumbled.

“We’ll let you know if we have any problems, okay? So you have to tell us what you need, and we’ll be there for you.” Malini promised.

“I’m starting the sim now. Take a deep breath and focus, Keith. Trust Malini when she says something, she’s the top navigator here for a reason.” Shiro said, and the screens darkened until they showed an asteroid field. Malini set to work, and they began to fly.

Keith flew beautifully, taking risks Shiro never would and managing the controls masterfully with Shiro’s coaching. He communicated perfectly, asking for assistance and repairs when needed. It was a good flight. Keith was as good a pilot as Shiro claimed, and he seemed to love flying. He just couldn’t talk to anyone outside the simulator. He needed a friend.

So that day in the simulator Malini decided that she would be that friend Keith needed. She’d adopt Keith as the younger sibling she wished she had. She always thought she’d make a great older sister. Asha always said she was a terrible baby sister, too bossy to be the younger sibling. And Keith needed a sibling, just as much as he clearly needed friends. So Malini would be his friend and sister, someone who would push him and get him out of his little shy hermit shell.

But Keith was a slippery little guy. Even when she paid extra attention to him he was able to sneak away like a ghost. He hopped into the sim, was a brilliant pilot and leader, then scurried out and hid himself away somewhere until the next flight. Malini tried seeking him out, but that was impossible. He was an expert at disappearing. 

He was also an expert at appearing when least expected.

“Shiro says you speak French.” Keith said. His voice was quiet, but it cut through the silence in the library loud enough to pull Malini out of her coding project. She looked up from her computer and saw Keith nervously standing at her right, books and binders clutched in his skinny arms. Those big purple grey eyes stared down at her, and Malini felt her heart melt as the maternal instincts Asha claimed she did not have were brought into life.

“I know a lot of languages. Need help with your homework, Keith?” Malini asked, and Keith shrugged his shoulders. She assumed that was his way of saying yes.

“Sit down, we can go through it together.” She gestured to an empty seat next to her and smiled when Keith sat down. “What do you need help with?”

“Conjugating verbs.” Keith mumbled. “I really don’t get it. Was never good at memorizing stuff.” He kept his eyes trained on his notebook, and Malini couldn’t help but notice how the back of one page was covered in scribbled out doodles and sloppy writing, while the page that was clearly his assignment was neatly penned. A closer look at the doodle sheet revealed a tiny illustration of an alien waving at a goofy looking spaceship. Malini smiled.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up.” Malini replied. “We can work through some common verbs, okay? I can show you some memorization tricks while we’re at it.” She took a pencil and sheet of paper out of her bag.

“So, Keith, how many nursery rhymes do you know?”

Nearly two hours later they worked through all of Keith’s French assignments and discussed his English essay. Keith neatly arranged his work in a binder and set it aside.

“Thanks for the help. I don’t know about the singing, though.” Keith said.

“Music and memory is really tied up together. Same with smells, but you can’t exactly translate words with smells.” Malini smiled. “And as long as you can remember how verbs conjugate it won’t matter how you remember it.”

“You’ve got a point. It just feels a little silly.” Keith mumbled. Malini wondered if Keith ever felt comfortable enough around people to be a little bit silly. She didn’t press, though. Sometimes the best way to get someone else to open up was to open up yourself.

“I had this blind date with a guy from Quebec once. He asked me to sing the Aller Song because I told him how I memorized the verb conjugations.” Malini said, grinning when Keith looked up from his work to stare at her. “When I started singing Quebec guy laughed so hard he choked on his coffee.”

“He laughed?” Keith asked.

“Yeah. It sounds so pretty when you sing it, until you realize you’re just singing ‘I go, you go’ on a loop.” Malini sighed. “Never got a second date, but we still talk sometimes. Good French practice. Now, my ex taught me Russian curse words. My Ma was so angry when she found out that I was telling her ‘I don’t give a fuck’ whenever she asked where my sister was.”

“An ex?” Keith asked. Malini unconsciously braced herself for the incoming dumb comment she was certain was going to happen. She reminded herself that Keith was just a shy kid and not some asshole who was going to ask for a threesome. He was what, fifteen? Sixteen?

“Yekaterina’s a figure skater.” Malini explained, waiting for the shoe to drop. “We broke up ages ago. Different goals in life. We weren’t always good for each other.” When things were good with Katya they were good. When things were shit it was Hell.

“I’m… sorry? I think.” Keith mumbled. “I mean, if you weren’t happy then it’s good you broke up? I dunno.” His face was slightly flushed, and he shrugged his shoulders again.

“Thanks.” Malini replied. “We still talk when we can. We’re better friends than partners.” Malini hadn’t had a real date since. She liked to consider herself on a relationship break. Being a Galaxy Garrison senior was not conducive to dating.

“Have you ever dated Shiro?” Keith blurted out, and Malini watched as Keith’s pale cheeks bloomed bright red. Malini tried not to smile because gods damn it, first crushes were cute. Keith’s standoffish behavior and crippling shyness around his mentor suddenly made more sense when seen through the lens of puppy love.

“Shiro’s really sweet, but he’s just a little too much like family to date.” Malini explained. She grinned at Keith. “He’s top boyfriend material, but he might be a little too old for you.”

“He’s really nice.” Keith muttered, that pink flush turning red and spreading across his face. “That’s all.” He gathered up his books and papers and hurried out of the library, but he turned back to Malini before he opened the door to leave.

“Thanks for the help.” Keith called back.

“No problem. See you in the sim on Tuesday, Keith.” Malini replied.

After that day there was change in Keith, slow but certain. He smiled more. He made jokes. His attitude was better, less shy and hesitant. He’d never be a social butterfly like Matt or a natural diplomat like Shiro, but he was better. Malini liked Keith, shyness and anger and a surprising eagerness to get to know people all wrapped up in one person. She wanted to bring him into this makeshift family bound by their shared love for the stars.

Then Kerberos happened.

Malini never signed up for the mission. It hurt her to stay behind, but Asha was getting married and it would hurt her sister so much if she put space over family again. Besides, she told herself, there would be more missions. More adventures in the stars. And with Shiro and Matt gone, someone had to look out for Keith. The kid needed someone on Earth to help him navigate being around people, with Shiro up in space.

But Kerberos happened. Shuttle failure. It was a blur of black and sorrow at the funerals, and she was shuffled off base onto a translation project across the country. Worst of all, she was away from Keith. The kid needed her and she couldn’t even call to see how he was holding up. He needs to concentrate on his studies, she was told, and that was it. Communication shutdown. And, Malini could admit to herself, she drowned herself in grief. She lost her best friends and she let herself drift on a sea of sadness and work. The only person she could blame was herself, and when she heard through the grapevine that Keith was kicked out for discipline problems it was just one more person she lost because she wasn’t there for them. She tried looking, but looking for Keith was like hunting down a ghost. He vanished into the New Mexico desert and hadn’t been seen since.

Malini only had herself to blame. The kid was missing and it was her fault. But, she told herself as she glared at a pile of papers on her desk until the letters ran together into blurry mush, she would find Keith, she would drag him back to the Garrison, and she would make Iverson reinstate him as a cadet. Malini might have lost some of her space family, but she would be dead before she lost what was left.

That was a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm rather uncertain about this chapter, but I promised myself that I would have a weekly update and I wanted to include a character within the Garrison. So here she is! Once again, any constructive criticism and/or commentary is most welcome!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!


	6. Colleen

“I expect that you have already begun an investigation into the disappearance of three cadets from your academy.” Colleen Holt said crisply. “I expect answers.”

They were sitting in an office, with four armchairs gathered on one side of an enormous desk made of some walnut stained so dark it was nearly black. The uniformed man behind the desk, Commander Iverson, loomed over the desk and the group gathered across from it. It was an intimidation tactic, trying to make her feel small. But Colleen had nothing more that the Garrison could take. They could not frighten her.

“We’ve already started our investigation, Mrs. Holt, but this is a sensitive military matter.” Commander Iverson said gruffly. The uniformed woman sitting beside him gave him a quick jab in the ribs with her elbow, as if to remind the man to be polite and use a kinder tone.

“We will keep all of you updated, of course.” Commander Iverson added. “We all want the safe return of your children and our cadets. They may have just snuck out at night and got lost in the desert.” It was a weak sort of compromise, and Colleen knew it. There was something off about his tone, and Colleen saw Katie’s text flash through her mind. Will call later, it’s big.

“Look, I don’t really know the other cadets, but my nephew’s just not the type to sneak out anywhere.” A skinny man with red hair piped up. “Hunk’s wanted to come here for years, he wouldn’t risk breaking the rules and getting expelled.”

“I understand your concern, Mr. Garrett.” The female officer said politely. “We’re doing everything we can to find your nephew.” Mr. Garrett looked like he had his doubts, but he didn’t say anything else.

Mr. Garrett had popped out of his car the moment he pulled into the parking lot. Colleen had been in her car for hours already, blasting whatever music was on the radio and trying to remain calm. Mr. Garrett, on the other hand, started pacing outside and texting someone on his phone before they were all escorted inside the building. He reminded Colleen of Sam, a little bit sloppy with his wild hair and untucked shirt, but Sam’s friendliness wasn’t there. Even his grey-blue eyes looked stormy, like he was ready to fling himself over the big oak desk and punch Iverson in the mouth. He would probably lose, since he was a twig and Iverson was built like a grizzly bear, but Colleen couldn’t deny that she’d be willing to start a brawl. Her patience was stretched dangerously thin.

“I know my son can be a bit of a troublemaker, but he would never put his friends in danger!” The woman who sat in the far right armchair said softly. Her voice was almost musical, accented and gentle. She was the type of woman that Colleen was a little afraid of, so feminine and graceful that she felt like the awkward teenager all over again. But they weren’t so different, were they? Colleen glanced over at the woman’s dark eyes, rimmed red from tears, and saw how she fidgeted with a small golden cross hanging from her neck. They were both here for their children. They were mothers. They weren’t so different at all.

“We never said your son put anyone in danger, Mrs. Martinez. He and the other cadets are simply missing. We will locate them as soon as we can.” The woman said politely, once again jabbing Iverson in the ribs with her elbow when he opened his mouth. He shut it without protest.

“I find the events leading up to these disappearances concerning.” The man sitting in the far left armchair said. Colleen recognized him from the Kerberos celebrations and launch, and then the funeral. Akira Shirogane was a household name, breaking speed records in several planes and piloting the first manned mission to Mars. He was a piloting legend, and his grandson was following in his footsteps. But why was he here?

“You weren’t invited to this meeting.” Iverson said bluntly, but Akira Shirogane only smiled. It was a frightening smile, all muscle and no joy behind it.

“No. But no one will stop me from sitting in.” Akira said. “And perhaps I find it interesting that so many people go missing without a satisfactory outside investigation.”

“These are military matters, Captain Shirogane.” The woman said politely. It sounded less like top military brass speak and more like the careful, measured tones of an attorney. Colleen recognized the tone the woman adopted. The unspoken implication of scandal hung heavy in the air.

“Dr. Samuel Holt was a civilian. These missing cadets are children. It is time for an impartial outside investigation.” Akira Shirogane said firmly. “You do not have much time before some reporter hears word and this unpleasant business is dug up.”

“Only if someone goes to the press.” Commander Iverson grumbled.

“Someone will.” Akira pointed out. “This is too big to keep quiet. You will have to tell these parents the truth.”

“Uncle, but yeah.” Mr. Garrett piped up. “My sisters in law are freaking out. Lani hates going to the mainland and she bought a ticket to fly here.”

“Please, Commander Iverson.” Mrs. Martinez said softly. “We just want to know what has happened to our children. My son is- I know he can be mischievous but he would never put his friends in danger.”

“We understand. This is a stressful time for all of you. We have surveillance footage of when we last saw them on Garrison property.” The woman said kindly, and she pushed a small laptop towards the gathered group. A short video started playing, and Colleen felt her heart stutter in her throat.

Katie was there on screen, a small figure on the roof of a building. She was surrounded by strange equipment and seemed utterly engrossed in her work. Her glasses reflected the glow of the screen, and her now short wheat colored hair was ruffled by a desert breeze. Her Katie. At least it proved she was alive and safe at that moment.

Two other figures entered the frame, sneaking along soundlessly. A tall, lanky boy with brown hair and skin lead the charge, followed by a larger boy with black hair and darker skin. The tall boy snuck up behind Katie and peered over her shoulder, while the larger boy lingered away from them, casting nervous glances back to the Garrison.

“Oh Jesus, Hunk.” Mr. Garrett breathed out. “What were you doing out there?”

At that point in the video the tall boy bent down and whispered something in Katie’s ear, startling her. The audio barely picked up her startled exclamation of “Lance!” Mrs. Martinez inhaled sharply, as if hearing her son’s name made the video more real to her.

The three teenagers gathered around the computer, and the distance and slight breeze kept them from hearing their conversation, though at one point Colleen heard Katie shout “Stop touching my equipment!” It nearly brought a smile to her face, because that was Katie. She was as protective of her computer as a bear was of her cubs. It was her baby.

A voice, Commander Iverson’s, came over the loudspeaker on the video. He shouted that there was an emergency and for all cadets to return to their rooms. It was not a drill, video Iverson warned, and then a bright light streaked across the sky. Was it a comet? A meteorite? Colleen couldn’t tell, but it landed somewhere in the desert. And instead of sitting down on the roof or returning to her room, Katie ran towards the explosion, the two boys (Lance and Hunk, obviously) running with her. They disappeared from the security camera’s view and the video ended moments later.

“What was that light?” Mrs. Martinez asked softly, breaking the silence that filled the room.

“Weather balloon. A company was conducting satellite equipment tests and the wind blew the balloon off course. It was supposed to land in White Sands, not at the Garrison.” Iverson explained.

“What on earth were they doing outside at midnight?” Mr. Garrett asked. There really wasn’t an answer anyone could give him. Colleen knew what Katie was doing, or at least had a good idea. She was trying to figure out what happened to Matt and Sam. But she couldn’t tell anyone at the Garrison that. Katie had already been banned from the premises for sneaking around, and she was obviously acting suspicious.

“Katie was probably tracking the weather balloon.” Colleen lied, and she only felt slightly guilty about the lie because Commander Iverson was clearly lying about the weather balloon. “She loves that sort of thing.”

“They could have been tracking the downed weather balloon and gotten lost, then.” Mrs. Martinez offered, but she did not sound convinced.

“We have these files on your children. If there’s anything you could tell us, any strange behavior you’ve noticed, any inconsistencies, it could help us locate your children.” The woman behind the desk said politely as another woman entered the office and handed out thick folders to the parents. Colleen looked over Pidge Gunderson’s file. The fake birthday, the fake medical records, everything they crafted to sneak Katie into the Garrison. But it didn’t seem to work. Someone figured out who she was. Was that why she disappeared?

“Who is Lance McClain?” Mrs. Martinez asked.

“Wrong file, Tammy.” Iverson sighed, and he took the folder from Mrs. Martinez before handing over another one in his desk. “Your son has talent, but is undisciplined. Plenty of guts, but won’t listen to his teammates. He could be a great pilot if he listened.”

“Thank you.” Mrs. Martinez looked over the folder's contents silently. Mr. Garrett frowned as he read the papers, and Colleen glanced over Katie’s, well Pidge’s, accomplishments. Discipline issues, poor physical performance, excellent technology and mechanical skills. Poor teamwork.

“Top engineering scores for his class.” Mr. Garrett said with some pride. “Sounds like Hunk. Put him in a garage or a kitchen and he’s in his element.”

“Katie sounds like Katie here. Pidge, that is.” Colleen sighed. “She never really played well with others.”

“I can’t believe Lance took Spanish!” Mrs. Martinez exclaimed. “Spanish! He’s been speaking it before he learned English! How could he be so lazy?”

“He tutored some of the other students in his spare time.” The secretary, Tammy, offered hesitantly. “He is a very sweet boy.”

“So, uh, who is Keith?” Mr. Garrett asked. “Hunk was assigned with some pilot, Keith, but then there was a change.”

“Keith is one of Lance’s friends. He’s a fighter pilot and eats pizza with ketchup.” Mrs. Martinez said automatically. She seemed like the type of woman who remembered those sort of things about everyone, Colleen thought. The type of woman who remembers every birthday and anniversary, and always knows the best gift to give.

“Keith was the top pilot of his class.” Commander Iverson explained. “But he had discipline issues and was expelled months ago.”

“Expelled? Where is he now?” Mrs. Martinez asked, but Iverson did not say. The woman (and Colleen was now certain she was a lawyer, the way she held herself screamed lawyer) took over the conversation.

“We do not know his location.” The woman said. “We have been in contact with a social worker to locate him. But I assure you, Galaxy Garrison is doing all we can to find your children.”

“So four children are missing.” Captain Shirogane said, his voice as even and pleasant as it was before. “Are there any cadets left in your care?”

“We are doing the best we can.” The woman repeated firmly.

“If that’s all, I think it’s time for us to head out.” Mr. Garrett said, but that gleam in his pale blue eyes made his words less of a polite goodbye and more of a challenge.

“Of course, Mr. Garrett. We will contact all of you as soon as we have more information.” The woman said, the perfect neutral response. They were escorted to the parking lot by soldiers, and then they were alone, holding folders of their missing children.

“Fucking asshole.” Mr. Garrett muttered. Colleen couldn’t help but agree.

“I… I heard about your family on the news, Mrs. Holt.” Mrs. Martinez said softly. “I am so sorry.” Colleen heard those words hundreds, thousands of times in the past year. But it was different when Mrs. Martinez said them. It wasn’t the platitude that so many people gave because they knew it was the polite thing to say. It was sincere.

“Thank you.” Colleen replied. “It was why Katie- Pidge- was out here. She broke into the Garrison to find out what happened to Sam and Matt.”

“I had thought as much.” Captain Shirogane said, his voice calm and gentle. “Some friends in the Garrison told me about her adventures here.”

“All those previous break-ins.” Colleen sighed. “I should have stopped her.” If she had not let Katie go, would she still be here and not who knows where doing who knows what? Colleen couldn’t answer that question.

“I do not think anyone could stop your daughter. Not even you.” Captain Shirogane said. Perhaps the cool practicality of those words should have stung, but it was a comfort to know someone else saw her daughter the way Colleen always had.

“I believe we should all have a meal together and talk about our children and the best course of action.” Captain Shirogane suggested in that same mild but firm tone that said his words were not suggestions but a command. “There is an excellent restaurant thirty minutes away. My treat.” Captain Shirogane walked to his car.

As if they were all well trained soldiers, Colleen and the others followed his lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, please leave any commentary so I can continue to improve! Thank you very much!


	7. Mark

There really was something to be said about meeting your heroes.

Not that Akira Shirogane was Mark’s hero, exactly. Mark never wanted to fly a plane or a shuttle. Mark liked having his feet planted firmly on the ground. It was why he never made a good fisherman. Going out on lobster boats meant fighting the sea and the wind and the lobsters and his own stomach. But building shit? Yeah, Mark loved building, and those planes and shuttles that Shirogane flew were the monuments of the future that Mark wanted to build. So in a roundabout way, Akira Shirogane was his hero. At least, the engineering team that let Shirogane fly were the heroes Mark looked to when he was growing up. Akira Shirogane was the guy who flew and proved those machines worked. Mark worked with his heroes every day now, veterans who grumped and talked and swapped tales with him as they built planes and shuttles and ships. They were no longer heroes but friends as well.

Which made eating lunch with Akira Shirogane so much stranger.

“Water, if you would, with some lemon.” Akira politely told the waitress, a bubbly forty something woman named Karen with bright blonde hair and long acrylic nails.

“Of course! Anything else I can get you folks?” Karen asked, ponytail swishing from side to side as she scanned the table.

“No, thank you.” Akira Shirogane said.

“Be right back with that water! Take your time with the menu!” Karen hurried off, and the group was once again alone in a relatively busy Mexican restaurant.

It was strange to see a man who flew to Mars and broke air speed records casually order a drink and peruse a faded old menu in a Mexican restaurant. The decor was a little dated, posters of local high school sports teams vying for prominence with old family photographs. Tissue paper flowers hung from the ceiling, and potted plants decorated the shelves everywhere. The smell of food and warm sunshine filled Mark’s nose. Here was this famous, record breaking legend, sitting across from him and acting like it was a normal day to have lunch with grieving families and discuss government secrets with those families.

Maybe that was a normal day for Akira Shirogane.

“It is good to see a familiar face, Captain Shirogane, though I wish the circumstances were better.” Mrs. Holt said. She still looked perfectly put together in a dark suit and pearl earrings, not even sweating in the desert heat. She looked like a TV show lawyer, classy and a bit terrifying. Mark could hardly see the resemblance between this scary woman and the grinning kid with messy hair and glasses in the photograph on the table. They had all put the photographs of their missing kids on the table, an awkward ice breaker for an awkward lunch with strangers.

“Akira, please. I believe we are all beyond formalities now, don’t you think so Colleen?” Captain Shirogane- no, Akira- said gently. He tapped one of the photos, a picture of a tall, skinny, brown haired and blue eyed boy with a bright smile and sandy skin.

“Please, tell us about your son, Mrs. Martinez.” Akira prompted. Mrs. Martinez, who sat next to Mark in the booth, took a deep, shuddering breath. Mark would have easily believed her to be in her mid thirties like him, but there was a tired look in her blue eyes that made her seem much older. She swept her dark brown hair over her shoulder and began to speak softly.

“Maria. My name is Maria. Lance is my son.” Maria said. “He has wanted to be a pilot since he was a little boy, and he worked so hard! I can't believe he would just- just disappear. Like smoke!”

“I also find it hard to believe.” Mrs. Holt- Colleen- replied. “If it weren't for the video evidence I would think that the Garrison expelled them for finding something they shouldn't have. But now I fear that it is something more sinister.”

“Like this Keith kid.” Mark realized he interrupted when everyone at the table turned to look at him, but he already started talking so he just continued.

“You think Keith might have found something. Something he shouldn't have found, and the Garrison disappeared him like he’s some sort of… of liability?” Mark fumbled with his words, but he was pretty certain he got his point across. Akira and Colleen looked grim but unsurprised. Mark wondered if anything could surprise those two now. Maria, however, looked horrified.

“That poor boy.” Maria whispered. “How could they do that to a child? Where are his parents?”

“He’s a ward of the state of Texas.” Colleen said after a moment of silence descended on the table. “He has no parents, and ran off before a social worker could pick him up and put him back into foster care. At least that was the story I was told.”

“My grandson mentored him before he went to Kerberos.” Akira added. “He was apparently an excellent pilot, if a little hot headed.”

“Lance said practiced a lot.” Maria replied. “I can’t imagine that anyone would just- just not look for the boy!” Maria seemed shocked at the idea that a kid could run away and never be found, never be looked for. Mark, on the other hand, wasn’t so surprised. He’d run away from home plenty of times. The only people who ever really looked for him and brought him back were teachers. His family didn’t give a damn. But Maria was clearly the family type. The good sort of mom who gave a shit about her kids, gave a shit about all kids if her reaction to this Keith kid’s disappearance was anything to go by. She looked like she was going to march off into the desert and find the kid herself.

“They say Keith ran off and might be hiding from authorities.” Colleen explained. “Which is just what the Garrison says. It isn’t confirmed truth.”

“So, trust but verify?” Mark asked. He didn’t think he could trust Galaxy Garrison when all they could offer him after his nephew disappeared was some security footage and a weak promise to look for him. Colleen snorted, a dainty sound that carried all her disgust in one little noise.

“We investigate and investigate. I don’t trust the Garrison at all.” She replied. “We find out where our children are, or whatever happened to them. We will find out what the Garrison is hiding.” The waitress, Karen, returned with their tray of drinks and a notepad for their orders. Akira ordered huevos rancheros, Colleen some sort of breakfast burrito, Maria a tamale platter, and Mark grabbed a green chile cheeseburger. Hunk told him it was a good choice during one of their calls. A New Mexican tradition, he said, and pretty tasty. It’s not loco moco, Hunk declared, but still pretty good. 

Mark nearly sighed out loud. He was only a week away from home and he missed Lani’s cooking, chicken and pork and rice. He didn’t even grow up on the stuff, he just missed it. He missed his family. He missed his wife. And he missed his nephew and was more than a little freaked out. As the waitress moved on to the next table, Akira’s attention turned to Mark.

“Your nephew is an engineer, Mr. Garrett?” He asked politely as he gestured to Hunk’s cadet photo on the table.

“Yeah. Hunk’s a smart kid. Likes building things.” Mark said. “Taught him everything I know, and he just went from there.”

“Lance said he and Hunk were friends. They were roommates.” Maria offered.

“Yeah, Hunk mentioned Lance a few times in his calls back home.” Mark replied. “Lots of ‘Lance and I went to an aerospace museum field trip in Albuquerque and ran around Old Town on our lunch break.’ Those kind of stories.” Mark smiled at the memory. Hunk discussed the food he had and purchased a box of candied prickly pear cactus from a shop. Lance apparently started dancing with total strangers to the music of a live band playing in the gazebo in the main plaza. It was, Hunk said, a bit touristy but fun. Nice to be on the other side for once, he claimed.

“You’re Mark, right?” Colleen asked, and Mark nodded. “Mark, then. Was your nephew acting unusual the last time you talked to him?”

“No, not-” A memory flashed through Mark’s head. “Wait.”

“What is it?” Akira asked. His voice was calm, but his dark eyes gleamed bright with curiosity.

“He called asking for my opinion on some homework he was doing, and I sort of heard his roommate venting in the background. Lance, that is.” Mark remembered how Hunk looked while Lance ranted off-screen. He was smiling and shaking his head, and even rolled his eyes before shouting back “Lance, I’m talking to my uncle here!” There was a pause, and then a shout of “Sorry! Tell your uncle I said hi, bro!” Mark had just thought it was so nice that Hunk had a good friend, especially someone who seemed as friendly and energetic as Lance. But now he remembered what Lance was venting about. He remembered the words. Most of them, anyways. Enough to be alarmed.

“So I can’t remember all of it, but I remember that Lance was upset because the team was being marked down for a lack of communication in sim tests or something. So he wanted to do team building exercises. He kept shouting ideas to Hunk, like going on a nature hike or building a robot or sneaking… off the base.” Mark explained. “I think he said ‘We’ll grab Pidge and go find a fire nightclub or something!’”

“That sounds like Lance.” Maria sighed. “He means well, he always does, but he is, ah, pushy.”

“Katie never worked well with others, especially after Kerberos.” Colleen added, and she continued speaking when everyone turned their attention to her. “Katie- well, Pidge, that’s her nickname- Katie was certain the Garrison was hiding what happened on the Kerberos mission. So she kept breaking into the facility to find out what they knew. When she got permanently banned she and I made up a fake identity and snuck her in as a cadet. But she was so busy looking for clues she never- never tried-”

“Never tried to bond with her team.” Maria finished the sentence. “Lance said his new teammate was a bit shy.”

“Oh, Katie isn’t a shy type.” Colleen protested. “Maybe a little withdrawn, but not shy.”

“In Lance’s mind anyone who isn’t his best friend in five minutes is shy.” Maria explained. “Lance never said he would sneak off the base, but he mentioned trying to make friends with his teammates.”

“The video we saw suggests they were well on their way to being friends. They followed each other after that object crashed into the ground.” Akira said as Karen returned to top off their drinks and place their food in front of them.

“Is everything okay? Need anything?” Karen asked, poised to jump into action and grab whatever was required.

“This is excellent, thank you.” Mark said politely. Big tip, Mark reminded himself, leave her a huge tip. The food looked delicious and she hadn't asked them any questions about the photographs on the table. She hadn’t even looked. Mark was grateful for it- it was hard enough to talk with two grieving mothers and a grandfather about their missing children. He didn’t want to burst into tears in front of a waitress for asking about Hunk. Mark was barely holding it together as is.

“No problem, I’ll be around so flag me down if you need anything!” Karen chirped, and she was gone with a twirl of bleached hair and acrylic nails.

“We will find out what happened to our families.” Akira told the group firmly. “But for now we will eat, then discuss our next move.”

“What sort of next move?” Maria asked.

“We gather our evidence, and demand an independent investigation.” Akira said easily. “But first we eat.” Mark couldn’t find any reason to argue with that logic, and took a bite of his burger.

It was delicious, just like Hunk said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all, once again, for reading! I appreciate all comments, questions, and criticisms, and I'll try to keep updating every Wednesday! Thank you again!


	8. Akira

Akira drove back to his apartment in his black hatchback. He was followed by a caravan of three other cars: a dark blue sedan, a green minivan, and a red SUV. They formed a colorful quartet as they drove down the highway, mountains and mesas dotting the horizon as they drove past farmland.

It was a quiet road trip back, and Akira let the radio station play soft classical music in the background as he drove. He recognized the piece from Prokofiev’s Cinderella. Reiko always loved Cinderella, though she never danced the role herself. Akira let the sweeping orchestral music fall over him like a warm, familiar blanket. He needed this calm, this comfort, because the conversations to come would be difficult and he knew he must be the strong one.

Akira had long come to terms with the idea that his grandson was most likely dead. The shuttle could not possibly keep three men alive for so many months, nearly a year now. He could live with his grief, as he had weathered so many losses that came before. But losing Takashi was a great blow. His son, Hiro, was so much like his mother. Reiko, bless her, was like the moon to Akira’s sun. His opposite and equal in every respect. And Hiro’s wife, Yuka, was like her husband. They were all wonderful, good people, people Akira loved more than life itself, but his grandson was- Takashi was like him. Takashi felt the same pull to the sky and the stars that Akira did. Losing Takashi was like losing some of himself to that endless blue above.

But Akira could not afford to mourn his grandson and lose himself to his grief. He had to help these other parents work through their grief and confusion. He had to help them find answers. So Akira pushed the sorrow back and thought of the people who were now following him back to his home, all of them tied together by a black string of tragedy.

Colleen Holt was the most familiar of the three. He had met her before Kerberos, and they had shared the same pride as they watched the shuttle launch into the sky. That was their family, their people, doing what no one else could do. Akira knew they shared similar losses, and a similar drive. And he saw that fire in her eyes, the same fire he saw in her daughter’s eyes. This was a woman who would find the truth or die trying. She knew the Galaxy Garrison and she knew they were hiding something big. Colleen Holt was fearless, a woman with nothing left to lose, and a woman not to be trifled with.

Then there was Mark Garrett, the mechanical engineer who came to find his nephew. He was bewildered and angry, though he was trying to control that anger. Clearly he was fond of his nephew, and couldn’t believe that he would voluntarily disappear. He understood the way the Garrison and the military worked, because he had clearly worked with them before. He was motivated to find his nephew and bring him home, and Akira could tell that nothing stopped Mark Garrett from getting answers. He was more than he appeared.

Lastly there was Maria Martinez. She was as far removed from space as anyone could be. She simply had bad luck. Her son got mixed in with some sort of cover up by the Garrison and left her floundering and grasping for answers. Her gentle speech and concern reminded him of his Reiko. She would need someone to look out for her, someone to guide her through these difficult times. She was not prepared for her son to disappear in mysterious circumstances. She was not prepared for conspiracies. She was not prepared for any of this. But she was as devoted and driven as the rest of them. She would find her son, and nothing could stop her. Akira was certain of that.

Akira had the most experience with the Garrison. He had lived with military protocol all his life. He knew how to act when the military brass threw barriers in his way. It was his duty to lead these parents and families through the oncoming storm. He was the only one who could.

What would Reiko do if she were here, Akira wondered. His wife had always had a remarkable calmness to her, a peace that followed wherever she went. Akira could always find himself when Reiko was with him. And though she was gone, the music she loved brought her back for a time. Sometimes when it played, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Copland- Akira could remember the lightness of Reiko’s step and the warmth of her voice, the way her dark hair flowed like water and how her eyes, Hiro’s eyes, Takashi’s eyes, sparkled like the night sky.

You have your head in the clouds and I dance on them, she would tease when they were together. But one of us must remember to touch the earth as well. 

But what would Reiko say now? She died when Takashi was young. She never knew the man he became, how smart and brave and patient their grandson was. But somehow, Akira could still hear her voice telling him to remain grounded and keep the faith.

Keep on fighting for the truth, she would say. Keep looking for our boy. Never give up.

He never would.

Akira parked in his garage, a small luxury he paid an extra $100 in rent for, and waited out by his front door for the others to join him. He watched as two young women jogged down a sidewalk with their dogs. It was a nice day, warm but with a slight breeze and a few puffy clouds in that bright blue sky. Evening would come soon, and with it a spectacular sunset of yellow and pink and lavender. But for now the sun cast yellow light through the cottonwood trees.

Akira chose the place for the lovely park-like courtyards and peaceful atmosphere. There were plenty of young families in the complex, but Akira liked the activity and liveliness the children brought to the place. Leaving his and Reiko’s home was a practical decision. He was growing too old to properly care for the house and the yard anymore. Akira still wanted independence, as he always did, but he could acknowledge that age was changing him.

Takashi helped him find this apartment. He found a place with a heated outdoor pool and walking trails through the foothills of the mountains. He went with him on tours and even helped move furniture before driving back down the highway to the Garrison. There was no escaping his grandson’s influence, Akira thought with some amusement. No matter where he was now, Takashi left an impact on this world. Akira would not forget, and he would not let anyone, especially the Galaxy Garrison, forget it either.

Colleen, Maria, and Mark walked up to his front patio as a united front. They were a team now, Akira acknowledged, united by family and loss. And with any good team, they had to build bonds together. They had to establish goals, structure, tasks, and they had to trust each other. They had to keep the faith, and they could never give up. It was another mission, but the most important of Akira’s life. Instead of flying to Mars or navigating Saturn’s rings, he was going to find his grandson.

Akira was ready.

“Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable.” Akira said politely as he opened the door and ushered his guests inside. “I will order food and we can begin our work.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your home.” Maria said softly. “I should get a hotel for the evening.” But she looked exhausted, as if she could fall asleep on her feet, and Akira remembered that the poor woman had gotten off a plane earlier in the day. Perhaps she had flown in yesterday evening, drove down to the Garrison, and then drove back up to the city. It would be cruel to make her drive off to a hotel on top of it all.

“I have a guest bedroom and an office with a futon. The couch also pulls out as a bed.” Akira replied. “There are also several hotels I will help pay for, since I had you all come up here after lunch.” It was only polite to offer a place to stay for his guests, and Akira knew they could take the train down to Galaxy Garrison and save time and money. And what else would he spend his money on? He had no need for things, and money was useless sitting around collecting dust. He could afford to pay for a hotel. But his guests did not seem to welcome the idea of hopping into a car and driving off again.

“That is kind of you.” Maria said. “I hope I can be of some help.” She did not sound certain of how much help she could be.

“You will be very helpful.” Colleen replied. “I need at least one extra pair of eyes to look over the paperwork. We’re going to file a request for an independent investigation into the Garrison’s actions regarding Kerberos. We’ll also have to file missing person reports for Katie, Hunk, and Lance.” Colleen sounded accustomed to making lists, each word and phrase precise and orderly.

“And Keith.” Mark added. “Might as well look for all the missing cadets, not just our kids. Someone’s got to be missing him.”

“If the state hasn’t put out an alert for him, then Keith too.” Colleen promised.

“Good.” Maria sighed. “I still have luggage in my trunk, so if I could just go down and pick it up, I will be right back.”

“I’ll help.” Mark offered. “Got to call my wife and sisters, let them know what we know. If you need to borrow a phone you can use mine, I bought an international coverage plan and hardly use it.”

“I would be grateful.” Maria said softly. “My husband should know what we’ve found out.”

“Please, call whoever you must.” Akira said. “The Garrison wants to keep these disappearances quiet. The more people who know, the harder it will be for them to silence us.” They were a team now, and they had to support each other in any way possible. Mark and Maria slipped out of the apartment, and he was left alone with Colleen.

“You have a lovely home.” Colleen said politely.

“Thank you. Takashi helped me find the place. A townhome is easier to manage than a ranch outside of the city.” Akira replied. “Please, have a seat. It has been a long day.”

“We shouldn’t be intruding on your privacy for more than a week. We can establish our case now, and come together and meet face to face once a month or so.” Colleen suggested after she sat down on a loveseat. Akira took his seat in an armchair. Colleen’s suggestion was reasonable. They could not remain around the Garrison for months on end. They had lives and would have to move forward with them.

“That is sensible. As I am closest to the Garrison, I can drive down and maintain a physical presence.” Akira offered. It was easier for him to interact with Garrison officials. They were used to him by now.

Akira knew what rumors floated around in the Garrison, in the public that paid attention to the Kerberos shuttle disaster, the whispers in his own family. Akira Shirogane is just an old man, the gossips whispered, an old man who is desperate to pin blame on someone for his beloved grandson’s death. But the gossips were wrong. He was not desperate to place blame. He was desperate for the truth. How many more people would have to disappear before the truth was finally found?

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I will order something for dinner.” Akira said politely. “By the time you have all settled in, I am sure you will be hungry again. Once we’ve eaten we will begin our investigation.”

Akira Shirogane may be an old man, he thought, but this old man was going to get to the bottom of this mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has questions/comments on this story, I would be very happy to answer them! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and I'll update next Wednesday!


	9. Maria

“We aren't alone, Jorge!” Maria exclaimed to her husband in the parking lot as she pulled her beat up duffel bag and carry on from the trunk of her rental car. Mark stood across the way to give her some privacy. His luggage sat next to him on the sidewalk, and he purposely looked away and up to the lavender colored mountains looming over them. Maria was grateful for his consideration.

“What?” Jorge sounded half asleep, and Maria remembered the time difference. It was only six here and eight in Cuba, but Jorge must have turned in early to get an early morning start. She could have woken him up. She allowed herself a small twinge of guilt before speaking, because Jorge would wake up quickly enough once she told him what she found out.

“Lance isn’t the only one who went missing! His teammates, they're gone too! Hunk, Pidge, his friend Keith- they’re all gone!” Maria explained. It was shocking enough to learn when she sat down in Commander Iverson’s office. It still surprised Maria to hear it come from her own mouth. But Lance wasn’t the only person to disappear off the Garrison. Thank God he was not alone, wherever he was right now. At least Lance had his friends with him.

“I think you should start from the beginning, Maria.” Jorge said, clearly awake now.

So Maria told her husband everything she could remember: driving through the desert, arriving at the Garrison, sitting in a cold office surrounded by other puzzled and worried family members and being talked to by a grizzled military man and his precise, smiling lawyer. She told him how frightening it was, being alone with all these people who clearly knew more than she did, all these confident, intelligent people who didn’t have to translate in their head or at least understood what was legal and what was not. All she knew was that her son was gone, and with him two, possibly three, of his friends.

Maria told Jorge of the other family members. She told him about Mark Garrett, the most familiar name in their household. They knew Hunk more than anyone else out of Lance’s classmates, and the more she thought of it she remembered that Lance had mentioned Hunk’s uncle who inspired him to be an engineer. Maria explained that Mark was letting her borrow his phone to make the call, and he seemed friendly enough. Devoted to his nephew, and determined to find him. He was like the rest of them.

Then she spoke of Akira Shirogane, how they were all surprised to see a living legend sitting next to them and calmly cutting the Garrison officials down with polite, harsh words. It was even stranger to sit across from him during lunch and answer his questions. He listened to them, listened to every story and patiently waited for them to finish. He didn’t press for details, he simply listened. Maria could hardly believe that she was given the same consideration and attention as the others. She was just a girl from Cuba and one of her son’s greatest heros was treating her with the same respect as one of his peers. Now she was staying in his apartment for the week before flying back to Cuba, and they were going to figure out how to fight the Garrison to get information about their missing families. Their children.

Lastly was Colleen Holt, who she knew so little about and yet so much at the same time. Who hadn’t seen the pictures of the woman dressed in the black suit in the funerals, holding her daughter’s hand and bravely facing the coffins of her husband and son? It was tragic and heartbreaking, and Maria felt like she knew her already. She knew people like her, women who pushed through every hard time and heartache with a ferocious determination to find the light at the end of the tunnel. She was intimidating and intelligent, yet even she did not seem to think Maria would be a burden. She was eager for Maria’s help. Maria was ready to help, to do whatever she could to bring their families home.

“But Jorge, it’s even worse.” Maria confessed. “Lance’s friend, Keith, he’s missing and- and no one came for him. He had no one to ask questions, or demand answers, or anything!” Her heart broke thinking of a boy like her son, just a child, all alone with no one to look for him. How could anyone just let a child go off and disappear? Something had to have happened to him.

“No one? No parents? Grandparents?” Jorge sounded as alarmed as her, understanding Maria’s shock and worry as she knew he would. Family was everything. Who wouldn’t do anything to find family?

“Not even a social worker. Colleen said he is a government ward.” Maria explained. “He’s all alone.” Alone, forgotten, not even searched for- Maria couldn't let that happen.

“No one is looking for the boy?” Jorge repeated. He seemed as stunned as she was when she first heard of Keith being missing. She could imagine the way his brow would be wrinkling right now, the deep furrow between his black eyebrows as he thought of someone's child disappearing and just not being looked for. Jorge had a big heart, always rescuing the ugliest of dogs from the streets and picking up baby birds who fell from nests. He was thinking what she was thinking, Maria knew it. When they found Keith, they would give him a place to go to. He was their son's friend, and he would always have a place in their home when needed.

“Not anymore, Jorge.” Maria said firmly. “We’re looking now, and we’ll find him.” They would find all of their children, and no one, no one was going to be left behind.

“If anyone can find them, it’s you Maria.” Jorge said. When Jorge said those words, it felt important. Sacred. A promise from God and his angels and all the saints, all wrapped into one sentence. When Jorge said she would find their child and all the missing children, Maria could believe it.

“I feel so small and stupid compared to everyone else.” Maria admitted softly as she stared up at the purple mountains in the distance and bright green of the cottonwood trees. “They’re all so accomplished: pilot, engineer, lawyer- and I’m just a girl from Cuba who never went to college.”

“And you traveled to a different country, where you were friendless and had no idea what waited for you, to find our son.” Jorge said gently, like he always did. “You have something even more powerful than they do- you have courage, Maria.”

“I do not feel brave.” Maria murmured. “I’m frightened, Jorge.”

“Can’t have courage without being afraid. Then it’s stupidity.” Jorge reasoned.

“Thank you.” Maria sighed. “Love you, Jorge. And our kids.” God she missed her babies. Being away from them, not being able to be there if they needed her, that was hard. But Lance needed her. His friends needed her. Their families needed her. She had to be here.

“I love you, Maria. The kids send their love. I’ll pick you up from the airport in a week, unless something delays your trip home.” Jorge always knew what to say, and after exchanging goodbyes they hung up. Maria felt a little more settled as she walked across the parking lot, duffel bag and phone in hand. The dry wind ruffled her hair, and there was a sort of heaviness to the air. There were clouds hovering over the mountains, grey clouds that held no promise of rain. Only storms.

Mark knelt on the sidewalk, eagerly petting a small black and tan dog with a curly tail and mischievous dark eyes. His red hair was like honey on toast in the sunlight, and his freckles only stood out more on his pale skin. He looked very young, almost as young as the children they were looking for. But he stood up and let the dog and its owners walk away, and the look in his blue eyes was old.

“Thank you for letting me use your phone, Mark.” Maria said politely as she handed the phone back.

“No problem.” Mark replied. “How’s your family holding up?”

“They’re well. It’s hard. Lance is… he is very dear to us all.” Her little explorer, her adventurer, the bright little boy who knew everything there is to know about baseball and dolphins and space. Mama, did you know there’s a pod of dolphins in Brazil that help fishermen catch fish? Mama, did you know that Saturn’s rings just look like rings, but it’s really a bunch of rocks orbiting the planet? Mama, did you know, did you know, did you know?

“Yeah, I get it.” Mark said gently. “Hunk is special too.” Perhaps it was the grief they all shared, the need to let someone else know, but Maria was not surprised that Mark continued to talk about his nephew, staring up at the clouds, at the mountains, anywhere but at her.

“My sister in law and her wife, they can’t exactly have kids, right?” Mark seemed to stumble and fumble with his words. “And my wife and I aren't good parent material. So when we all brought Hunk in, we just- well, you know- he made being a parent type easy. He’s a good kid.”

“You love him.” Maria said gently. “Like he’s your blood.”

“Yeah. Never good at saying the words, but yeah.” Mark admitted.

“Family is what you make of it.” Maria said firmly. “And you have a good, strong family, Mark.” She patted his shoulder, a friendly gesture.

“I’ll go inside and speak with Colleen and Akira. You call your wife and sisters.”

Maria told him.

“Yeah. See you in a few.” Mark called back. As Maria returned to the townhouse, she overheard a snatch of Mark’s conversation on the wind.

“Lani? Hey, honey. Look, it’s a total dumpster fire here and I’ve got a lot to tell you. Are Kona and Liz there? Put me on speaker phone-” The conversation faded away when Maria entered the home and shut the door. Akira was thumbing through his phone, but turned his attention to her and smiled politely.

“I hope you won't mind sharing a room with Colleen. The guest room has two twin beds.” Akira explained. “I hope you will be comfortable for your stay. My nieces and nephews often visit. They have large families.”

“I’m sure I will be comfortable. You have a lovely home.” Maria replied. “Thank you.”

“Go settle in. When everyone is ready we can order food and begin working on our case.” Akira led her over to a hallway and gestured to an open door. Maria shifted her duffel bag on her shoulder and walked into the room. Colleen was already inside, carefully pulling out a laptop computer and several folders from a suitcase on the bed. The second suitcase was set on the floor at the foot of the bed. Colleen had her shoes off and her suit jacket neatly hung up on a hanger. Maria could tell the jacket alone was worth more than anything she had ever worn in her life. Courage, Maria, she told herself. Courage! Don’t let yourself be intimidated by a piece of fabric!

“Ah, hello.” Maria said shyly. “I suppose we’ll be here together for the week.” She thought Colleen would laugh at her for saying such a silly, useless comment, but instead the woman smiled a tiny smile.

“I never had a roommate before. My parents thought it would distract me from my studies.” Colleen murmured. “It will be a new experience.”

“Yes, I suppose it will.” Maria set her duffel bag down on the empty bed. Akira seemed to have the whole place set up for visitors. Did he have a large family? Friends who always dropped by? Maria started pulling items out of her bag- the torticas de moron were a little crumbled, but still looked good. Her daughter had done a good job. She set them on the bed, and hung up her rosary on the bedpost before carefully organizing her clothing and toiletries.

“Those look good.” Colleen said. Maria glanced up and saw that Colleen was peering over, curiosity gleaming in her brown eyes. It was the same look that her daughter had in that cadet picture: curious and bright. Maria opened the plastic bag and offered it to Colleen.

“My eldest made them for me. We thought, if Lance turned up, he would want some of his favorite treats.” Maria explained. “But he would want us to share and enjoy them too.” Colleen took a cookie and chewed on it carefully, eyes lighting up in surprise.

“Rum and lime?” She asked after she finished her cookie. “It’s like a thumbprint cookie, but I don’t know what you used for the center.”

“Yes to the rum and lime, and the jam is guava.” Maria explained. “Lance thought he was such an adult eating them, until he learned that all the alcohol burns away when the cookies bake.” Lance ate everything with gusto, but he had a deep love for junk food and sweet things. It was always easy to feed him.

“Katie loves peanut butter cookies, but hates peanut butter.” Colleen said. “I was hopeless in a kitchen. Couldn’t even boil water when I got married.”

“Really?” Maria couldn’t imagine this confident woman failing at anything!

“Yes! Sam was kind about it, though. We worked together on recipes and now I can at least make a decent pot roast.” Colleen smiled and took another cookie from the bag when Maria offered it. “These are amazing, though. Wish I had a gift for cooking.” Maria was about to open her mouth and give her the recipe and kitchen tips, ready to share, but Akira's calm voice echoed through the townhouse.

“Colleen? Maria? How do you feel about pizza?” Akira called out. “There’s a local chain that delivers.”

“Pizza sounds wonderful!” Colleen called back, and she glanced over to the door. “We better join the rest of them and get started.” The momentary excitement and joy in Colleen’s face faded, as if she was finally returning to the task at hand and was already overwhelmed.

“We’ll find them.” Maria promised, more than a little worried for this woman who had lost so many people and been under far too much strain. “We’ll find all of them.”

“Yes. I didn’t believe it before, but now we have a chance.” Colleen picked up her laptop and a binder, ready to leave the room. Before she left, she turned back towards Maria.

“Are you ready?” Colleen asked.

“Yes.” Maria said, and there was no doubt. Fear and worry, but no doubt.

She was ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for putting this chapter up so late! I'll try to put these up earlier. Thank you all for reading this story, and please feel free to leave comments and criticism. I really appreciate both! Thank you!
> 
> Torticas de moron are tasty, but I like anything with guava in it. I'm easy to please.


	10. Malini

Malini Patel was enjoying a soda and watching her sister and her husband of four hours rock the dance floor when her phone buzzed against her chest. She had shoved it down her choli earlier that evening because she was supposed to have her work phone available at all times in case of emergencies and she would never hear it if it was in her beaded clutch that she bought to match her bridesmaid saree. Asha insisted that peacock blue had to be the bridesmaid color, and it didn't matter what Malini wore as long as it was peacock blue. Malini was happy to comply, so Asha’s troop of merry bridesmaids (and bridesman) wore cocktail dresses and sarees and even a pantsuit in peacock blue, and Asha was very happy with the results.

The entire wedding had been a production nearly two years in the making, Malini thought as her phone buzzed like a particularly loud cicada. She swept her hair back over her shoulder and stood up, taking a look around the room for possible disasters in the making. Ma and Baba were happily occupied. Ma was showing off in front of the old gossips she called her friends, bragging about her oldest daughter’s match. Baba was busy talking with the groom’s father- probably cricket or cars, Malini thought fondly. The rest of the guests, family and friends alike, were either sitting around and talking, or dancing. Children ran around the main floor, chasing each other and blowing bubbles in between grabbing desserts from the dessert bar. The chocolate fondue fountain was a particular favorite of the children, especially when they discovered the rather large platter of Oreos set out for them to consume. It was a miracle of a wedding, running smoothly thanks to Asha’s excellent planning, the wedding planner’s brutal efficiency, and a few well placed threats from Malini herself.

The troubles with the wedding started when Asha was first engaged. She was marrying the wrong sort, a white boy from Australia of all places! Ma was hysterical, but Asha, in a surprising show of backbone, told her that if she couldn't pretend to be happy then she didn't have to show up. Ma made a turnaround, but she was still a demanding monster. Pretty Asha called and called and called, more and more distressed as she approached her engagement party. Malini remembered complaining to Shiro and Matt, and later telling Keith about her family because the kid was curious about what she was cursing and grumbling about all the time.

“Is your mom really that demanding?” Keith asked once after overhearing another screaming fight Malini had with Ma on video chat. Malini told Ma to shut up about wedding sarees and tradition and let Asha do what she wanted, or Malini would give her something to truly complain about. The threat of scandal kept Ma on her best behavior, but Malini was still pissed off and let her team know it was a bad time to mess around.

“All that and more.” Malini had grumbled. “Ma is very controlling. Asha was her golden girl until she started dating Robert and grew a spine.”

“Is your mom upset about your sister getting married?” Keith sounded a little confused and worried. “I mean, she should be happy that your sister is happy.”

“She just likes getting her way.” Malini assured him. “Asha’s her favorite, she’ll come around.” And she had, sort of. She would rather brag about her daughter getting married than mourn over the groom not being her ideal choice in a son in law. But Malini liked Robert well enough. His big smiles and irreverent humor drew demure Asha out of her shell. The wedding was not easy, though. Nothing in their family was easy.

Bright blue wasn't really her color, she thought as she adjusted her saree and began to navigate her way through the throng of wedding guests. Malini preferred orange or purple to blue. But Asha wanted blue for her bridesmaids and Malini would do anything for her beautiful and radiantly happy sister. It was her day, and Malini was going to make sure Asha had a blissfully happy wedding reception. She was about 70% confident that there would be no sudden emergency if she were to take this call, but just in case- Malini waved to three of the groomsmen, all school and childhood friends of the groom, and approached them.

“Hey, I’m going to the rooftop to take a call. Can you come grab me if someone makes a scene?” Malini shouted over the music.

“You mean your mom or someone else?” One of the groomsmen, Eric, shouted back. He was one of those perfectly perfect blond men with perfect white teeth, but he was so damned nice that Malini liked him. He also bought her drinks last night while the wedding party hung out at a bar after ice skating.

“Anyone.” Malini replied with a smile. It’s easier to catch flies with honey, she could hear Shiro lecturing in her ear. So be nice and make friends. Don't let them know that this wedding and the past year of disasters have made you feel like a 90 year old granny.

“Need some company?” Another groomsman, Charlie, asked. His earnest expression and big blue eyes made him look like a sad puppy.

“Nah, work call. But I appreciate the thought.” Malini called back before hurrying up the metal spiral staircase to reach the rooftop garden. The bouquet toss would be in half an hour, after a few toasts. Malini had a speech written up and half forgotten in her clutch, and she hurriedly tugged out her phone from between her breasts and dialed the last caller back.

“Hello, Malini. I am sorry for calling you during your sister’s wedding.” A polite man said gently over the phone, immediately dissipating her anger like a bucket of water killed a fire. Instead she was only mildly annoyed.

“They made you call on purpose, didn't they, Haru-San?” Malini groaned. Haru only laughed, a polite, pleasant sound. Haru was always unfailingly polite and quiet. It made him easy to work with when they were paired on projects together.

“Yes, I’m afraid so. I convinced them to let me call you later in the day so I didn't interrupt the celebration.” Haru said. “I will get to business. The Garrison has need for your translation skills on a archeological dig.”

“Where?” Malini asked. She tried to find a more private area in the garden to take her call, and ended up hiding behind a planter box near the air conditioning unit.

“Chaco Canyon. It is a little remote, but I was assigned to the team as well.” Haru explained. “It is a relief to have a friend working on this project. There will be several teams working on site besides our own.” If Haru was not so proper, Malini could have sworn she heard the tiniest dissatisfied note in Haru’s tone at the prospect of working with outsiders.

“Weird for Galaxy Garrison to be involved in a dig for old pottery and shit.” Malini mused out loud. Galaxy Garrison was primarily about space exploration. Why would they want to muck about with ancient artifacts? Surely this wasn't about space, right? The exploring the ocean was closer to exploring space than the desert! They should all be on a submarine a la The Abyss, not sitting out in Northern New Mexico in the wind and sun.

“I will fill you in about the project in person, when you arrive on site.” Haru promised. “It will be easier to explain there. The simple summary is that you are working translation and I’m programming computer models on the sun dagger petroglyph.”

“Fun times.” Malini retorted, and she saw the wedding planner and Charlie (the groomsman with the big baby blue eyes and curly black hair) scanning the rooftop garden. Shit. Wedding emergency.

“I’ll be on site in a week, I promise.” Malini said. “I think I’m needed for damage control.” Her mind was already spinning countless possible disasters: one of the children upended the dessert table and they drowned in the chocolate fondue fountain. Mama picked a drunken fight over which mother among her friend group hosted the best rehearsal dinner. Grandmother insulted a guest or bullied one of the servers or bartenders or- well, anyone. It was Matt’s voice that echoed in her ear next. Don't panic over the maybes, just work with what you know.

“Enjoy the rest of the wedding, Malini.” Haru said, his calm voice cutting through the noise of the city and the memories and panic. Malini collected herself and calmed down enough to say goodbye to her coworker.

“I will, Haru-San. I’ll see you in a week.” She promised, and after saying goodbye she hung up. She scrambled out of the potted plants and made her way towards the wedding planner and Charlie.

“Ah, thank goodness you’re still here!” The wedding planner explained. “We’ve had a bit of an incident, can you smooth it over before the bride or groom see it?”

Shit. “What did ma do now?” Malini could already see the disaster- no, don't panic. Let what happens happen.

“It’s your dad, actually.” Charlie said. “Reg’s with him, but you should probably go down and see him. He’s sitting out in the hallway, quieter there.”

“Thanks, Charlie. I’ll handle it from here, let me know if you need me for anything else.” Malini replied, and she dashed down the stairs and hurried across the reception hall. She wasn't stopped, everyone too busy dancing or talking to say hello. She ran through the doors and turned a corner to find her father sitting on a bench and talking with the father of the groom, Reginald (Reggie or Reg) while drinking a beer. It would have been almost impossible to tell if he was upset until Malini caught a glimpse of his eyes, puffy and red rimmed from crying. Her Baba never cried! She nearly tripped over her saree to get to the two men, and Reg clapped Baba’s back.

“Ah, and there’s your little star right now, Dav! I’ll let you two have a chat, and we’ll get a sailing trip planned out for us when you come visit us in Perth!” Reg said cheerfully, and he stood up from the bench and ambled towards Malini.

“Right good man, your dad.” Reg told her. “The celebration’s been a bit much for him at the moment. He’ll be right as rain in a bit.”

“Thank you for keeping him company.” Malini said. To think it was her calm, rational, quiet Baba who would be emotional today!

“No trouble.” Reg exclaimed. “See you in the hall!”

Malini took a seat next to her father and waited for him to speak. She always waited for him to give his opinion. He never said much and tended to be overruled in his overwhelmingly female household. So Malini always tried to let him speak first.

“Alcohol makes me maudlin.” Baba said abruptly before downing his beer and setting the bottle on the ground next to his feet. Malini held her tongue. Alcohol did not make her father sad, but she knew he needed the excuse to start talking. Speaking about feelings never came easy to a man of so few words.

“I am happy for your sister, Lini. She has never fought for what she wanted before. You always fought for her.” Baba mused aloud. “All the after school activities, the sewing lessons, those design classes- you always defended her and made sure she got what she wanted, even when your mother and I disagreed.”

“It’s what sisters do.” Malini mumbled, a little surprised by what her father was saying. He often called her a disagreeable child when she argued. Now he was praising her. It was surprising.

“It is what you do, Lini. Asha isn't a fighter, not until Robert.” Baba sighed. “She finally found the strength to want something for herself and fight for it. I am proud, but sad.”

“They’ll still be in LA. They aren't going anywhere.” Malini pointed out. Empty nest syndrome, Malini realized. Baba was suffering empty nest syndrome. It was perfectly normal.

“It is still a change. And thinking of Asha made me think of you, Malini. How much you fight for, all you have accomplished, everything you sacrificed. All the changes you have endured.” Baba wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly.

“Baba, you know I love what I do.” Malini said lightly. It was true. She loved translating old documents, she loved working as a translator on different teams when they were programming star maps and flight patterns. She even liked coming back to the Garrison as a guest speaker on navigation, even when seeing the Galaxy Garrison gates hurt. Shiro. Matt. Keith. She missed her space family.

“Of course you do, and we are proud of you. You have always pursued your dreams.” Baba said. “We worry, though. I know how this past year has been hard for you. I am sorry about your friends, Malini. I know you loved them.”

“I- Baba, I’m fine.” Malini felt the tears rising in her eyes, choking her throat.

“No. You never had a chance to mourn, and we never really let you know how sorry we were.” Baba said gently. “They were your brothers. And we wanted to ignore how frightening the possibilities were. What happened to your friends was what I fear may happen to you someday. We ignored the tragedy as best we could because we were afraid. It was no excuse.”

“Baba.” Malini hugged her father tightly. He smelled of soap. She was perilously close to sobbing now. Baba understood. She never realized he understood.

“You know what you signed up for, I know. But an old man will still worry.” Baba patted her back. “We never gave you the support you needed. You lost family.”

“We all knew the risks.” Malini managed to say between tears. “But Matt and Shiro, they were so young, and Keith got kicked out and he doesn't have anybody- it isn't fair!” 

That was the crux of the issue. Matt and Shiro were the best of the best, but they were so young! It wasn't fair that Malini lost her two best friends in one fiery explosion. It wasn't fair that she was alone now with no one to tease and joke with anymore. It wasn't fair that Shiro’s protege was all alone and hiding in the desert, or worse. It wasn't fair that Keith lost everything when he lost Shiro. It wasn't fair that Matt’s family lost two people in one moment. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair!

Baba understood, and let her cry. In between her sobs Malini tried to tell her father everything, how much she missed her friends, how scared she was that it could happen to her and her family would be the mourners at a funeral, unable to cremate a body because her body could not be recovered. She didn't know how much her father heard, but Baba held her and let her cry and that was enough.

“My mascara and eyeliner is smeared everywhere, isn't it?” Malini asked once the tears stopped flowing and she finally felt calm.

“I will get your bag and you can fix it before we give speeches.” Baba said gently. “Feel better, Lini?”

“Not really.” Malini confessed. “I wish you knew them, Baba. You would have liked Shiro. He was such a dad.”

“Someone had to be responsible for you, no doubt.” Baba replied. He stood up from the bench and picked up the empty beer bottle.

“I will get your bag, Lini.” Baba ordered. “Wait here.” Malini was emotionally exhausted and wanted to crawl into a bed and sleep now. Telling Baba about how much she missed Matt and Shiro felt good. Someone finally knew. She didn't feel alone anymore. When Baba came back with her beaded clutch Malini took it and smiled.

“Go join Ma in the reception hall, she’s probably going to complain if one of us doesn't show up soon.” Malini joked. She glanced at a clock on the wall, and realized she had around ten minutes to clean up before she had to show her face for speeches.

“Your mother likes to fuss.” Baba replied, and he left for the reception hall. Malini sat back and stared at the ceiling. The venue had strung up Christmas lights through the metal rafters. The twinkling white lights softened the steel. It was like sitting in a fairy’s palace, surrounded by lights and softness and beautiful flowers. Asha always had an eye for detail and beauty, an eye Malini did not. 

Neither did Matt, Malini thought fondly. He hated dressing up, was messy in his appearance, didn’t particularly care about clothing and how it looked on him. Shiro was forever scolding them both, and later Keith, for taking so little pride in their appearance. What would they think if they saw her now? She was done up in her most elaborate saree, with golden jewelry hanging from every available limb and henna crawling up her hands and arms. Her dark hair was curled and styled into a low ponytail, and Malini was certain the mascara and eyeliner was now clownish. Baba returned with her clutch, peacock blue to match her saree. He held it out to her.

“I will go back inside and keep your mother and grandmother from barging in on you.” Baba promised. Malini hurried into the venue’s bathroom and started scrubbing the makeup off her face. Once her face was bare she dumped the makeup out of her clutch. Tiny bottle of foundation and a clean sponge. Tiny setting powder compact and fluffy brush. Eyeshadow compact with pale gold and bronze. Liquid eyeliner. Mascara. Apricot lipstick. She began to fix her appearance, covering the red puffiness, hiding the dark circles, reapplying eyeshadow and eyeliner and mascara until she looked like she had hours earlier. As she replaced the makeup back in her clutch, Malini saw the half formed speech crumpled at the bottom of her bag. It was all jokes and lightness, and utterly meaningless. There was no heart there, no personality. It was just platitudes. What an awful speech! She couldn’t give this! What sort of speech could she give that was worthy of her sister? What sort of speech was good enough?

Give the couple some advice and smile. That would be what Shiro would say.

Make them laugh, then cry. Then laugh because you want to leave them laughing. That would be Matt’s advice.

Can’t you just tell them something true? Keith’s voice rang clearly through Malini’s head. She could almost see the confused look on Keith’s face, an expression Malini was familiar with.

The advice echoed in her mind as she stared at her reflection. All of it was good, all of it would improve her speech and it would actually mean something. So why not use all of the advice?

With the voices of her friends who were gone accompanying her, Malini returned to the reception hall. The best man was finishing up his speech, a humorous account of Robert desperately looking up Hindu celebrations after his first date with Asha so he wouldn’t “Look like a completely ignorant blockhead.” Everyone laughed and smiled accordingly. Malini made her way towards the stage and watched as Asha laughed and squeezed Robert’s hand, smiling indulgently. Robert smiled back. There was applause and then the microphone was in her hands. Malini stepped forward and gave her sister a small wave.

“Good evening, everyone! I’m Malini, and I’m the bride’s younger sister.” Malini said, remembering to smile. “I’m sure Asha wants to keep the sibling horror stories to a minimum, so I’ll keep this short.” There were a few chuckles at that, and Malini felt encouraged.

“Asha is one of the kindest people I know. One of the most accepting people I know. She’s someone who has a good word to say about everyone.” Malini knew she wished that she could be like Asha sometimes. She was sometimes too hard on others, too rude. Asha knew when to be soft.

“When we were young, Asha wanted to be an ice skater. I wanted to do whatever my glamorous older sister was doing, so I insisted on skating lessons too. But I was so bad at it. So bad!” Malini smiled at the laughter and continued her story. “I wanted to quit after my first lesson. I spent most of it on my butt, and all the other kids laughed at me. But Asha wouldn’t let me quit. She spent an hour after our lessons coaching me through skating moves every week until I was caught up with my classmates. Asha was happy to help me, and that’s the kind of person she is. Always willing to help people become their best.”

“Robert is just like my sister. Happy and willing to help others be the best they can be. They are the couple who goes out to an animal shelter for one pet and comes back with two. As a matter of fact, that’s what they did! Ask them about their ring bearers, Anjali and Luna!” Malini grinned at Asha, whose face was turning a bit pink. “Both of them will pull out their Instagram feeds to show you everything, from the matching family walking outfits to the special homemade dog treats.”

“I can say with complete confidence that Asha has found her match in Robert. Robert has a big heart, and his kindness and encouragement have helped encourage my sister to be her best. He is an easy-going, good man, and one that I’m proud to call my brother in law. They make a great team, balancing each other out and supporting each other in every way. The two of them can tackle anything thrown at them, from wild family reunions to what colors to paint their house.” Malini said, and she smiled at the couple. Asha was starting to look a little weepy, and Robert appeared to be pleasantly surprised.

“Robert, Asha, I don’t know what advice to give the both of you that you haven’t figured out yourself.” Malini said. “You both know that love is hard work, that love isn’t a cure-all, that love is patient and kind and difficult all at once. And you both will put in that work and everything that comes with it. Tonight we’re celebrating your love, and looking to the future that you will build together. I would like everyone to join me in a toast.” Malini lifted a slim glass of champagne from a tray next to the microphone and addressed the room.

“To Robert and Asha. Here’s to a new life and a future so bright you’ll need shades! Cheers!” There was applause, Malini set the microphone back in its stand, and walked away from the small stage. Asha wrapped her arms around her neck and hugged her.

“You are the best sister.” Asha whispered. “Thank you.”

“I said all the silly stories on your bachelorette party.” Malini teased. “You go have a wonderful honeymoon, okay?”

“We will.” Robert leaned down and hugged them both. “That was a good speech, Lini. I guess the check cleared?” Malini laughed and slapped his arm, and let the newlyweds bask in the attentions of the guests and the next speaker. Malini stood back and watched her family, and she wondered how it would have been different if her space family was with her. Matt would raid the dessert bar. Shiro would politely make conversation. Keith would be mildly alarmed by all the people crowded together, talking all at once. Malini could imagine it so clearly it was as if they were with her.

But they weren’t really gone. Matt and Shiro were still around, in her heart and mind. Keith was still out there in the desert, and soon Malini would be out in New Mexico, only hours away from the Garrison. The moment she had a free day, she would drive down to the Garrison and figure out where Keith could have disappeared to. That was a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! I appreciate it!
> 
> I promise, Malini's plot line will pick up the pace in her next chapter.


	11. Colleen

Colleen dropped her files next to her laptop on the coffee table. The files made a heavy thudding sound when they hit the glass table top. Maria sat across from her on an overstuffed ottoman. Akira sat in his armchair, and Mark to her right on the loveseat.

“I’ve compiled several cases as precedent so we can begin to file a case against Galaxy Garrison.” Colleen announced. “I’m warning you now, it is going to be a long, tough, exhausting process. We have a very small chance of success and they will try and bury us however they can. They will offer assurances and bribes. If we go public they will attempt to discredit us. We need to be iron clad and iron willed.” Colleen looked over the collected group, who kept their eyes trained on her, from Maria’s vibrant dark blue gaze to Mark’s icy blue gray to Akira’s brown so dark it could be black. They all looked to her, and Colleen looked back.

“I’m telling you this now. This is the time to leave. I won't put anyone through this wringer unless they are prepared for it.” Colleen said.

“You’re stuck with me. Garretts are tenacious.” Mark replied.

“I have been here from the beginning, and I will see it through to the end.” Akira promised.

“I am with you. Where do we start?” Maria asked.

“We start here.” Colleen pointed to the cases on the table. “Sort through what I compiled. Look for anything with exploration incidents and external investigations. We need history as our guide while we build this case.” Maria dragged the folders closer to her side of the coffee table and picked up the first file.

“Mark, you’re an engineer?” Colleen asked, though she already knew the answer. She wanted confirmation, and Mark provided.

“Yes.” Mark said. “Communications and systems. I’m also lazy so I’m practical. Use ten screws instead of fifty.”

“Work on the measurements and transmissions of radio waves. There was a transmission from the shuttle after it was supposed to crash. I will send what Katie sent me before she disappeared. Our case is going to rely on us proving a link between Kerberos’s shuttle failure and our children disappearing.” Colleen explained. “It won't be easy. But we have to give it our best effort.” Colleen turned to Akira, who had remained politely quiet. This was the tricky bit, the bit that relied on charisma and connections. There was only one person with enough charisma, connections, and social significance to be the face of their investigation.

“Akira, because you are the most respected, famous, and well-connected of us all, will you be able to establish contact with the media? Float the idea of a breaking story or interview.” Colleen pitched the idea hoping that the little she knew of Akira’s personality was correct. He seemed like the sort of man who lived causing a little bit of well managed havoc. He should eat this idea up and sell it like mad. Colleen could be wrong. Akira might not go for this at all. But she had a hunch she was right, and the gleam in Akira’s dark eyes told her she was on the right track.

“I assume we will hold this in reserve, for when the Garrison is difficult and refuses to cooperate with us.” Akira said. He looked somewhat amused, a little half grin playing on his face. He looked so much like his grandson, Colleen thought, but far older and mischievous, a wily old fox.

“We should be ready. If anything goes public we need to be ready to drum up public support. The Garrison can't sweep us aside as grieving families driven to temporary insanity.” Colleen replied. “Can you do it?”

“All that and more, Colleen.” Akira said. Colleen smiled and tapped her laptop.

“I will spend today trying to find out what happened to our fourth missing cadet. Keith. I’ll see if an investigation is taking place. If so, perhaps we can convince Keith’s social worker to join our case, or at least give a statement. There will be police records if a missing person report was filed.” Colleen stated. Maria smiled at her, beaming with delight.

“You didn't forget!” She exclaimed. “You’re going to look for him!”

“Of course I wouldn't forget.” Colleen replied. “He’s one of our kids now.”

“He must have someone looking for him.” Maria insisted. “He must!”

“If no one has, then we’ll be the ones to look for him. For all of them.” Colleen promised. “Let’s get started.”

Colleen couldn't remember the last time she worked so hard. Was it that divorce case her boss brought her on five years ago, the one where a woman tried to sue her ex-daughter in law for full custody of grandchildren she never saw? Was it the dog fighting case (Colleen took particular pleasure in prosecuting that case and putting the people responsible in prison). Maybe it was for her bar exam. Regardless, it had been a long, long time since she had looked through this much paperwork. But this time, Colleen thought with a little bit of cheer, there were people helping her along. 

Mark had spread out his yellow and green engineering pads across the coffee table, scribbles and notations neatly lined out in a spidery hand. He was muttering to himself, something about distance of the message traveling by radio waves in space and bounce back or something or other. Sometimes he ran a hand through his red curls and sighed before returning to calculations.

Akira was quietly penning down a list of contacts. There were three lists: a list of helpful informants, a list of media outlets and journalists, and a list of people to avoid. The last list was painfully long. He occasionally stepped into his kitchen to bring out food and drinks, or take away dirty plates.

Maria had made herself comfortable on the floor, sitting cross legged with papers scattered across the floor. She had a pink highlighter, and marked every passage she thought useful to their situation. Colleen noted that she had marked the Challenger Shuttle disaster as extremely important. She put a star next to the case and everything.

Colleen looked through missing persons reports filed by the state of Texas. Some were elderly people who went hiking in national parks and never returned. There were a few runaway teens and missing college kids, the usual stuff. The hard ones were the kids. It was always hard to read cases with missing kids. Finally she found the report she was looking for.

Keith Park. Also known as Kim Soo Park. Age 16. 5’8”, 145 lbs. Black hair, gray eyes. Last seen wearing black pants, a black shirt, and a red jacket. If you have any information as to the location of Keith Park, contact the Sweetwater Police Department at- Colleen scribbled the number and email down on a notepad. She noticed that the state social service worker, a Mrs. Tanya Devine, had her contact information on the report. But there was a second number, one that surprised Colleen. She hadn't expected a civilian contact, only government numbers. She read the name on the screen, blinked, and read it again.

“Malini Patel.” Colleen murmured. She knew that name. The image of a dark skinned, dark haired girl with a broad smile popped into her head. Patel, Patel- Matt’s classmate! The navigator who wouldn't sign up for Kerberos for familial reasons. Colleen hadn’t seen the girl since the funerals but here she was, and she was looking for Keith too. Keith Park, or Kim Soo Park.

“Malini Patel.” Akira mused. “She was Takashi’s squad member, the navigator.” 

“Yes.” Colleen replied. “I had no idea she knew the boy, or that they were close.” Colleen looked down at the contact information, an email and a phone number. Colleen scribbled them both down.

“Thank God.” Maria sighed. “Someone is looking for the boy.”

“I wonder how long he’s been missing. Do you know when these were filed?” Mark asked.

“No. The official police report was filed three weeks after… after the Kerberos mission was officially listed as a failure.” Colleen replied. Three weeks after Kerberos, and at some point between Keith’s expulsion and that report was when the boy disappeared. Finding out when the boy was expelled was key to finding out what might have happened to him. But figuring out when he was expelled would take some doing.

“I can contact someone in Garrison administration. They may be able to part with Keith’s records, or at least give them to someone we can then talk to.” Akira suggested, and he reached for his phone. “I will go out to my balcony and call.”

“I’ll call Mrs. Devine, then Ms. Patel.” Colleen decided. “It will be best to contact them both.”

“I was going to take a trip to the grocery store, buy some stuff for breakfast tomorrow. It’s only fair if we split food costs, you know.” Mark offered. “And I think I need a break from the calculations.”

“I’ll continue to organize these cases.” Maria said, and she held up a folder to illustrate her point. “I’ll organize by date, oldest cases first.” Colleen appreciated Maria’s organizational skills. She could use someone that organized and keen-eyed in her office.

“Good idea. I’ll just go to the guest room and make those calls.” Colleen said. They all departed to separate areas of the townhouse. Colleen sat on the end of her borrowed twin bed and slowly tapped out the number for Mrs. Devine, Keith’s social worker. The phone rang five times, and the message came on.

“You’ve reached the phone number of Tanya Devine. Please leave a message after the tone.” A woman said in a clipped, authoritative voice. Colleen waited for the beep of the machine, and began to recite the script she had planned out. 

“Hello, Mrs. Tanya Devine. My name is Colleen Holt, and I am currently looking into several missing persons cases involving Galaxy Garrison. My clients and I are concerned that the young man you placed in the Garrison has disappeared under circumstances similar to other disappearances on the base. If you could share any information on Keith Park, we would be grateful for any assistance. You can contact me at-” Colleen quickly rattled off her phone number and email address. “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Devine, and I hope to hear from you soon.”

Colleen ended the call, and she glanced out of the window. There were children playing in the courtyard, blowing bubbles and playing tag on the grass. For a single moment, dark brown hair turned to wheat and Colleen heard Katie’s voice echoing through her ears. Mom! Mom! Look what I made!

But then brown hair was brown again and Katie was gone. Gone to wherever the Garrison put her. Colleen pulled herself together, wiping her eyes and slowly, deliberately pressing buttons to call Malini Patel. The phone rang for some time, until it hit the voicemail box.

“Hey there! You’ve reached the phone of Malini Patel! Sorry I couldn't be reached, please leave a message and number and I’ll get back to you! And if this is about Asha and her wedding do not call me, call her wedding planner. Bye!” The voice was as chirpy as a happy bird. Colleen took a deep breath and said a different message. A more personal one.

“Malini Patel? This is Colleen Holt. Matt Holt’s mom. I’ve been working on an investigation about several missing cadets and saw you listed as a contact for Keith Park. If you have any information, or just need someone to talk to, please contact me.” Colleen hesitated for a moment, and decided fuck the script.

“Matt always had the funniest stories about his time with you and Shiro, Malini. It would… it would be nice to hear them again. Feel free to call me anytime.” Colleen hung up and exhaled. It felt… it felt good to say that. To let someone else know that they could talk to her. That she would listen to them. She had buried herself in the investigation, in the search. She should let herself breathe and share her son and husband and daughter with the world. Let people know who the Garrison lost, not just that they were lost. Colleen slipped her phone into her pocket and walked back to the living room. Maria just finished stacking another pile of papers onto the coffee table, and Akira was still out on the balcony.

“Did you reach anyone?” Maria asked eagerly, her blue eyes full of hope. She really was glamorous, Colleen thought, but it wasn't nearly as intimidating as she thought it would be. How many friendships had she missed out on in her life because she was too frightened of other women cutting her down? Why did she think every other woman would be like her mother?

“Just voicemail. I don't know if we can get a hold of the social worker, but Malini will probably be willing to talk to us about Keith.” Colleen said. She flopped down on the loveseat and sighed. Calling Malini was more emotionally draining than she thought it would be. She hadn't even spoken with the girl and she felt weary.

“I wonder what made her file a report.” Maria mused. Colleen thought back to her calls with Matt, the calls that sometimes were interrupted by his squad mates. She remembered one in particular, where Matt was complaining about the physical exams they had just taken. Malini had knocked on his door, and her muffled voice was still clear through the metal.

“Matt, get your ass out here!” She had yelled. “Shiro and I need you to be engineer, we’re testing Keith on emergency landings today!” Colleen was certain that was what she shouted, because she remembered Matt’s comments on the subject when she asked what all the fuss was about.

“It’s Shiro’s mentorship kid. He’s a pretty good pilot but has some people issues.” Matt had shrugged and smiled his typical carefree grin. “Malini thinks the world of the kiddo, so she’ll bite my head off if I tease him.”

“Be nice, Matthew William Holt.” Colleen told him sternly. Her children loved to tease their friends. Their father was just as fond of terrible pranks and the worst jokes.

“Mom, I am nice!” Matt laughed. “Love you!”

“Colleen?” Maria asked, tearing Colleen out of her memories. She had a concerned expression on her face, as if she had been trying to get Colleen’s attention for some time.

“Sorry. Just remembering.” Colleen murmured. Maria patted her hand, a sympathetic gesture that Colleen found she appreciated.

“Take your time.” Maria said, her smile warm and encouraging.

“Matt had said something about Malini.” Colleen finally replied. “Keith was being mentored by Shiro, but Malini had grown attached to the boy. Matt jokingly called her the mom to Shiro’s dad once.” She also remembered that Matt had been shouted at by both of his teammates. Shiro had insisted he wasn’t a father, and Malini screeched that marrying Shiro would be incest. Matt thought it was hilarious. He wanted Colleen to send him matching mom and dad shirts so he could present them to his teammates. Colleen, naturally, refused. Sam sent them instead, along with an “Uncle In The Attic” coffee mug for their son.

“Do you think she will call us?” Maria asked.

“I’m sure she will.” Colleen replied. She didn't know how, exactly, but Colleen was positive that Malini Patel would call them back. She was Matt’s friend, and Matt’s friends weren't the type to forget about him.

“So, what did you find in the cases?” Colleen asked Maria, eager to change the subject. Maria dove into an excited explanation of what she had found and what could be used as precedent. Akira joined them later, and soon after Mark returned with a bag of groceries.

Colleen’s phone rang a few hours later as they sat around the kitchen table and tried to talk about something lighter than their missing children. Mostly they just talked about the kids before they went missing. Colleen rose from the table to answer the call, ready to retreat to the guest room or balcony in case it was private business. She retrieved the phone from the coffee table and answered it. The number was not from her contact list, but it was familiar. It was one of the numbers she had called earlier today.

“Hello?” Colleen asked.

“Mrs. Holt? This is Malini Patel.” The voice on the other end said. Female, surprisingly soft and echo-y. “I was on a flight, couldn’t get your call.”

“That’s alright. I’m glad you called.”Colleen sat down on the ottoman and gave Akira a thumbs up. She mouthed “It’s Malini” to him, and he nodded an acknowledgement before he whispered something to Mark and Maria. 

“I- I’m so glad you called.” Malini said. “Like, it’s been… it’s been tough. And no one’s been asking after Keith except for me, even his social worker has been tight lipped and no one will tell me anything-” Her frustration was obvious, her voice getting louder and faster as she talked to Colleen.

“We’ve had the same problems with the Garrison.” Colleen replied.

“We?” Malini echoed.

“There are a few other parents with missing cadets. We all want some answers, Malini.” Colleen said. “And when I saw that you were looking for answers too, I thought you should know about all of us.”

“That’s… well, it’s a big freakin’ relief.” Malini said with a big woosh of an exhale. “I haven’t heard any news from the Garrison or the social worker. The police called and interviewed me, asking if I had any contact with Keith, but that was it. No calls, no messages, nothing. Keith just… just disappeared.” There was something in Malini’s voice that made Colleen wonder if Malini was hiding something.

“If you have any ideas on where he is, we won’t be telling the Garrison that you know.” Colleen assured the young woman. “We just thought that if he was missing, then it’s possible that he went missing for the same reason as the other cadets.”

“Right.” Malini sighed. “I… I’m really not sure if I should tell you this, Mrs. Holt. It’s just a hunch.”

“Anything helps, Malini.” Colleen replied, unconsciously taking the tone of voice she used when coaxing Matt to eat his vegetables, or convincing Katie to just try going on a walk in the park.

“Keith is- was? Well, he likes his privacy. He’d disappear for hours when he could. So if he’s anywhere, he’s out in the desert.” Malini said, her voice soft. “And I think I know where. I’m heading down there this weekend, and if I find him, or anything, I’ll let you know.”

“You aren’t contacting police?” Colleen asked.

“Keith is a jumpy kid. That would freak him out and he’d run. He trusts me.” Malini said firmly. “And I’m not letting Galaxy Garrison get their hands on him again after they kicked him out.” The absolute vehemence in her voice was what convinced Colleen that Malini was serious. She was only Matt’s age, so young, and yet she was as protective as a lioness over this boy.

“I won’t tell the police. I urge you to be careful. You don’t know what you’ll find there.” Colleen couldn’t control someone else’s actions, but there was a knot writhing in her stomach when she realized that this might be the last time anyone heard from Malini Patel. If she was going off to look for Keith, what would happen to her? Would the Garrison hunt her down? Would she find anything? What if she disappeared like the cadets, like Katie, had? She wanted to tell Malini to stay put, to not go anywhere, but what was the use? The girl would go, no matter what anyone said. Colleen knew that much from this one conversation.

“It’s just a hunch. It’s probably nothing.” Malini said. “But I’ll let you know, Mrs. Holt. And, uh, Mrs. Holt?”

“Yes?” Colleen asked.

“Matt always shared your peanut butter cookies with us when you sent them.” Malini sounded a little shy as she spoke. “It was- they were really good.”

“I’m glad he shared them.” Colleen replied, and she felt a little weepy. It was just a story of Matt sharing his care packages with his team, but it was so- so like Matt to do that. 

“Yeah. I’m just going to go, my ride is waiting.” Malini mumbled into the phone. “I hope you find out what’s been going on at the Garrison, Mrs. Holt, there has been some fishy stuff happening.”

“Me too. Good bye, Malini.” Colleen said.

“Bye.” Malini replied, and then she was gone. Colleen took the phone with her as she returned to the table and sat down in her seat. Akira looked her over carefully, his eyes assessing her face.

“What did she have to say?” He asked.

“She said she hasn’t heard from Keith or anyone from the Garrison or the government.” Colleen replied. “But Malini is planning to look for him. She said she would call if she found anything.”

“And Malini is?” Mark asked.

“A Garrison navigator. She was on the same squad as Colleen’s son and my grandson.” Akira informed the group. “I had heard she went into translation and navigation programming, but I am surprised that she knew Takashi’s protege so well.”

“She’s determined to find him.” Colleen mused.

“Someone in the Garrison wants to help us.” Maria said. “She can help us!”

“We can all help each other.” Colleen stated. This wasn’t going to be an impossible task. There were four, now five of them. It was a bit frightening, to think of what lay ahead of them all. It was frightening to think of what might happen to the young woman she just spoke to. But they were all bound to this search now. They were going to find their children, and nothing was going to stop them.

They were just getting started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon is that Lance’s mom is glamorous. He got his looks from her.
> 
> Figuring out Keith’s name was very difficult. I absolutely love the Korean!Keith headcanon, so I figured he might have a Western name and a Korean name. Credit goes to hakpng for the name Kim Soo Park. I think it fits really well!
> 
> I will try to reference real world locations and events when possible to build a possible future earth from which the Voltron crew came from. If anyone has questions about places or events I can put links in the author’s notes to link to relevant pages! Let me know if this would be a welcome addition to the story or not.
> 
> If anyone has any comments, questions, or criticism for this chapter (or any chapter) please leave comments below. I want to improve my writing and the best way to do that is through critique! Thank you for reading!


	12. Mark

Mark stood in the middle of the produce section of the grocery store and just stared blankly at the selection offered to him. God damn it, he thought. Should have asked about food allergies. He could hear Hunk lecturing him, as he always did whenever he approached food. Engineering was Hunk’s career of choice. Cooking was his passion.

“Uncle Mark, people have food allergies! Preferences! Tastebuds! You have to get creative!” Hunk would say when they wandered through food markets and grocery stores. Hunk cared about food, he cared about people, and he cared about giving the people he cared about the best meal they would ever eat.

Mark was a steak, potatoes, and lobster guy until he went off to Hawaii for a satellite project and met Lani. His wife had teased him for falling asleep on the beach and getting a sunburn. That was their first meeting.

“When did you crawl out of your cave to sunbathe, white boy?” She had asked. Mark was nearly struck dumb by her. A pretty girl was talking to him? Nerdy Mark Johnson who could never talk to a girl without stuttering?

“I, uh- well, a few hours ago, I guess?”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Lani had sighed and offered him her hand. “Look, I’ll just get you to your hotel and you can get some aloe on that, Lobster Boy.” But something he said must have caught Lani’s interest, because she kept visiting him every time he went to the beach. They traded numbers, started talking, and five months later Mark transferred his job and moved out to the islands. Best decision he ever made.

Love story of a century.

But he was introduced to a new world of culinary delights when he permanently moved to Hawaii. Poke, mochi, poi, sweet bread- Mark was introduced to a brand new world. And when the family brought in Hunk, he brought new light to every aspect of their lives. Liz and Kona were suddenly PTA moms, Lani became babysitter number one, and Mark was the role model and male figure. And Hunk was Hunk. He brought himself and he was everything their family needed and more. And Hunk’s passion opened them all to a new world of food.

Mark’s hand hovered over a package of blueberries. Hunk would suggest pancakes, with real maple syrup and fruit on the side. Maybe meat, like bacon or sausage. Or maybe Hunk would suggest blueberry scones, or a pie. Pie for breakfast is totally a thing! You’d know, Uncle Mark, you’re from Maine and eat apple pie with cheddar cheese!

Mark never had the heart to tell his nephew that he didn’t really like eating apple pie with cheese. He barely liked apple pie (a blasphemy he was certain his nan never quite forgave him for). Before he was fully aware of it, Mark had grabbed the carton of blueberries and dumped it in his cart. Pancakes. He’d make pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

“Who hates pancakes?” Mark muttered to himself as he picked out the rest of the ingredients and a few extra items that he probably wouldn’t need but got just in case. Be prepared for any emergency, Hunk would say. And use good quality ingredients. Mark made scrambled eggs and toast with chunks of melon this morning for the group, and Akira was cooking dinner. Maria said she would cook tomorrow, and Colleen offered to make up a chore chart so Akira wasn't saddled with cleaning up after his guests. They were going to make a bigger grocery run tomorrow at one of the big world food markets, and Akira offered to show them around the city. A good break from the hard work, he had said. If they weren’t scared out of their minds looking for their kids, Mark would have said it was a good vacation. Nice location, fine weather, and good people to hang around.

It was a little weird, how quickly all of them fell into assigned roles and friendships. When they were just taking a break after dinner Akira taught them how to play euchre and completely kicked their asses. Mark could have sworn the man was cheating somehow, but he was probably just that good at reading his partners and making ballsy calls. Mark still didn't understand right and left bower. But he had fun, and he and Colleen won a few hands.

Mark smiled at the memory as he bagged his groceries and paid. It was a warm day. The sun beat against his skin as he drove back to Akira’s townhouse, mountains to his right and city to his left. Maria was pouring over papers in the living room, but she looked up and waved when Mark entered the home.

“Good trip?” She asked.

“Pretty good. I’ll just put these away.” Mark held up the grocery bags for her to see.

“Akira’s talking on the phone to another journalist. He says they’re in New York.” Maria stood up and held her hand out. “I can help you with those.”

“Sure. Knock yourself out.” Mark said with a shrug. It wasn’t like he was going to refuse help. And it’d be nice to talk with someone about what they were working on. It’d be nice to talk to someone about Hunk. 

They began by placing bags on the limited counter space. Akira seemed notoriously neat. The dishes were washed and put away, granite countertops gleamed, there was no clutter anywhere. The walls, however, were covered in pictures. Pictures of a much younger Akira Shirogane, dressed in various uniforms and military fatigues, posing in front of planes and shuttles with other pilots.

“Shit, he really does look like his grandson.” Mark said, mostly to himself. Maria made a soft noise of agreement, and pointed to a picture set up in the small dining area.

“I think that’s a wedding photo.” She murmured. “How lovely.” 

Mark shuffled over, carton of eggs in hand, and stared at the picture Maria pointed out. It was pretty. Akira, much younger, all his hair black and barely a wrinkle in sight, wore a dark robe of some kind. The woman next to him was in white robes lined with red, an enormous sort of hooded hat covering her head. The couple seemed to be trying to look serious for the camera, but the woman’s painted red lips were smiling shyly and Akira’s eyes had that same lively cast to them.

“That photo was from the Shinto ceremony. Our parents were very traditional.” Akira’s voice piped up from behind them. Mark nearly jumped out of his skin, and almost dropped the egg carton. He didn’t, but it was a close thing. Akira only raised one dark eyebrow and smiled.

“We didn’t mean to pry.” Maria said, her voice soft.

“It’s not prying when I display it in my dining room.” Akira replied. “And it is a good picture. I teased Reiko all day, asking where she was under all that cloth.” Mark noticed that Akira’s eyes were a little misty. Fond and happy, but still a little far away.

“Is this Reiko too?” Maria pointed to a picture of a petite woman in a tutu. Akira nodded.

“She was a dancer. When she retired from the stage she taught classes.” Akira explained. “Takashi took lessons from her for some time. Good aerobics training, he claimed, but I think he just enjoyed spending time with his grandmother.”

“That’s lovely.” Maria murmured, returning her attention to the wedding picture. “I wore my grandmother’s veil at my wedding. Jorge told me he didn’t know where I was in all the lace and tulle.”

“Same with my wife.” Mark joked, and he pulled out his phone to show them a picture of Lani. She was posing with Hunk on a beach, pointing at a “Look Out for Jellyfish” sign. Hunk was making a disgusted face, and Lani was sticking her tongue out at the camera.

“Lani’s not a girly girl. Likes her board shorts and tank tops. Her sisters and mom and aunts and cousins shoved her in this poofy monstrosity of a dress.” Mark sighed. “Hunk never believed us when we said Lani’s wore one dress in her life.” Mark had thought Lani looked beautiful at their wedding, but he thought Lani was beautiful from the moment she woke him up on the beach and told him to get his lobster cooked hide back inside. Aren’t engineers supposed to be smart, she had asked.

“Are we talking about weddings?” Colleen called out before emerging from the guest bedroom. “I eloped and got married in Vegas. Best decision ever.”  
She looked a little exhausted and was holding her phone in her hand, but they were probably all tired at this point,

“Eloped?” Maria sounded almost scandalized. “Did your parents not approve?”

“No.” Colleen said crisply. “And I didn’t care. I wore a green cocktail dress and we went dancing.”

“That sounds like fun.” Mark said before gesturing to Colleen’s phone. “Anything so far?”

“It was Malini again. She said she couldn't talk for long, but that she sent me Keith’s school records.” Colleen handed a stack of papers to Maria, who scanned them and sighed.

“He seemed to be doing well, but these last few months…” Maria shuffled through the documents. “Low grades, behavior problems, discipline issues- this was after Kerberos.” Maria’s big blue eyes were full of tears. Mark peeked over Maria’s shoulder and started looking over the report. The disciplinary rap sheet was impressive. How many times was this kid stuck in the Garrison’s version of detention? It looked like it was more than thirty. This was the top pilot? The one who Hunk was going to work with before he got paired with Lance and Katie/Pidge?

“Malini said she had graduated and was sent on a job across the country. The Garrison prevented communication between her and Keith. Something about him needing to focus on his training.” Colleen explained.

“Obviously that didn't work.” Mark grumbled. He poked at the grades. “He was doing alright until this last quarter. Failing everything but his flying sims and physicals.” He wouldn’t have pinned a big eyed, dainty looking kid like Keith as a jock. That was a surprise.

“He must have been distressed.” Maria said softly. “Poor child.”

“How did Malini get a hold of Keith’s school records?” Akira asked. “They would not just hand those out to anyone.”

“She didn’t say.” Colleen replied. “And I didn’t ask. But Maria, look at the next page.” Maria flipped through the papers to reach the page Colleen indicated.

“Citation for… for sneaking off Garrison grounds.” Maria recited. “Warning and mess hall duty for two weeks. Citation for sneaking off Garrison grounds, three weeks mess hall. Citation for sneaking off Garrison grounds, stripped of Canteen privileges and extra simulation time- it keeps going.” Maria handed the papers to Akira.

“He snuck off ten times before he was kicked out.” Akira said. “They must have truly wanted to keep him as a cadet. Quite forgiving.”

“What was he looking for?” Mark wondered. No one just wandered off the Garrison after being punished so much for doing it once. Keith was looking for something. What was it?

“Malini told me she had an idea of where he went off to. She promised to call if she found anything.” Colleen sighed. “I can't help but feel she’s walking into danger.”

“She knows the risks.” Akira promised. “She’s an officer, just like Takashi and your son Matt. She can handle herself.”

“And we know what she's up to.” Maria added. “If there is trouble we can drive down and help.”

“Right.” Colleen shook her head. “Just a little overwhelmed. How are the calculations going, Mark?” Mark groaned.

“They’re going.” Mark replied. That was the best way to describe the calculations for the radio signals. Katie, Colleen’s kid, found something worth looking into. But it was a whole lot of something mixed in with a big bunch of weird. Mark was untangling some of it, radio transmissions from Kerberos that dated well after they were supposed to have disappeared, but interpreting the signals was difficult. There was some sort of error somewhere. Why else would the word ‘Voltron’ keep popping up randomly in the messages? It had to be a mistake.

“I know this much. There were the normal messages, the regular radio signals sent at the designated intervals, there was a spike in communication right before the craft was supposed to wreck, and then there were the regular signals for a time after the wreck. They kept coming, at least until Katie stopped sending you data.” Mark sighed. “She was picking up other data too, though I don't know if it’s interference or who knows?”

“If you say aliens I will slap you.” Colleen warned. “This isn't X-Files.”

“The truth is out there.” Akira said solemnly. Maria giggled. Colleen shook her head and picked up the maple syrup bottle from one of the grocery bags. But Mark saw that she was smiling, and at least they were able to laugh about something

“I’ll put this away.” Colleen sighed. “And later we can look through those media contacts of yours, Akira. If we can get a really good, serious interview out there before the Garrison can dismiss us, we can get a footing with the public.”

“Of course.” Akira replied. “But be sure to get some rest as well. You’ve been calling people all day today.”

“I’ll go back to my calculations. Maybe listen to a few of those recordings your daughter sent, just to see what she thought was important.” Mark offered. “You guys take a break, going out to buy the groceries cleared my head.” He waved a lazy goodbye to the others before retreating to Akira’s office, where he was sleeping on the futon and doing most of his work. Mark sat down on the futon and looked through the papers and papers of calculations he had made. So many things to calculate, so many things to think of, and Mark had trouble keeping it all together. All he could prove, all any of them could prove, was that the Kerberos shuttle hadn’t crashed.

A crash would have meant that the signals would have stopped coming, but they were coming for nearly a year after the crash. But the signals were distant, for more distant than what they should have been if the craft was on Kerberos. Was there an accident and the shuttle just kept flying out into space, a floating metal crypt for three explorers? But then, what was it that made Hunk and his friends disappear? Mark hated to think of something horrible happening to Hunk, but nothing about Hunk (or Katie or Lance) suggested that they would have run off of their own free will. Mark thought of the footage the Garrison leadership showed them. What he wouldn’t give to be able to hear what had been said!

“Damn it, Hunk.” Mark said to the empty air. “I need a sign. Just one sign.” He looked at the calculations, at the scrambled bits of code he was able to decipher, at the word that was scribbled out over and over in his notes.

Voltron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and leaving comments and questions. I welcome both, and it's really great to hear from readers! If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them. I might try updating twice a week if I can manage it, but Wednesdays are a set thing.
> 
> In case people were wondering, euchre is a real card game most likely developed from a card game in the German settlements in Pennsylvania. It is most commonly played in the American Midwest. Akira's absolutely the type of person who knows all sorts of card games because of his time with the Garrison. Lots of dull down time between the tense moments, and lots of opportunities to play card games.


	13. Akira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the week long delay! I promised that I would keep to a strict update schedule and I failed! There will be an update tomorrow, and I will continue to keep to said Wednesday updates in the future.
> 
> Sorry again! Here's the chapter.

The difficult part about organizing a group of adults for a sightseeing tour, Akira thought, was that they were all adults. Children could find entertainment wherever they went, but adults could be picky. Especially when the adults were as different from each other as he and his newfound companions (perhaps now friends) were. If he was just with Mark, Akira would suggest visiting a brewery and relaxing for a moment, or he’d offer to go to a winery if it was Colleen. Maria seemed like the type who would want to visit a nature center or hiking trail. 

But now Akira had three people to think of, three people who desperately needed a day in the sun. Maria had run through court cases three times, writing her own notes in Spanish before carefully translating them into English with Colleen’s help. Colleen made her phone calls. She called Texas Social Services for information on Keith, called Galaxy Garrison for updates on their missing children, called several other attorneys for second opinions on their case- Colleen called and called until her voice was hoarse. Mark was muttering and calculating at the dining table, forgetting to eat in favor of scribbling an equation down on the closest piece of paper. The only person who could break him out of his trances was his wife, who would call every evening for updates on their missing nephew. And Akira had called on so many journalists and talk show hosts that even his patience was strained.

The point was, they were hanging onto their sanity by a thin thread. All of them needed a day away to refresh themselves. So Akira planned an outing, where they could relax and run errands and just have a pleasant day away from their work. So he decided on taking the group on a walk through the town plaza. There was an art fair going on, a few restaurants to choose from, and plenty of tourist traps he could navigate his friends past. Mostly it would just be pleasant to walk in the sun and look at things.

“Wow, is everything here covered in stucco?” Mark asked as they walked down a covered sidewalk. A band played in the plaza, and children ran through the grassy areas playing tag.

“In this area, yes. Even the McDonalds is covered in tan stucco and southwestern motifs.” Akira replied. “I am sure the tourism agencies in your city like to invoke local color to impress the tourists.”

“Yeah. Kinda weird to be on the other side of it again. I’ve been part of the family so long I’ve forgotten what it is to be a tourist.” Mark said quietly. He looked more than a little lost.

“Just be polite and respectful and you’ll do fine.” Akira replied. “What sort of things would you like to get? Plenty of artists from around the country here for the art gallery.”

“That’s… well, it’s something.” Mark stopped by a stall full of quilted tapestries and gazed at them. Akira wandered over to where Colleen and Maria stood in front of a stall with small portraits of dogs and cats.

“Oh, this looks like Rover!” Colleen exclaimed, picking up a tiny watercolor portrait of a droopy looking basset hound. Maria giggled and pointed to a watercolor painting of an orange cat lounging in a window.

“My grandmother had a cat like that. Lazy and fat and he slept all day. We called him Gordito, but his name was Hadrian.” Maria laughed before peering over to look at the picture Colleen held. “What a sweet face!”

“Rover is a silly dog.” Colleen replied. “But he’s a good boy.”

“All dogs are good.” Maria agreed. The two started looking through more paintings, giggling and chatting like schoolgirls. Akira smiled and began flipping through a pile of watercolor postcards. He sent more than enough postcards to his family and neighbors. Replenishing his supply would be a wise decision.

In the end he bought ten postcards from the vendor, all of them paintings of animals frolicking about. His personal favorite was a painting of a little black cat tangled up in a ball of purple yarn. He might keep that one to himself. It reminded him of Takashi. The kitten’s expression was so intense and focused as it batted at the string- an expression that was often on his grandson’s face. Akira wondered if he should frame the postcard and keep it on his desk.

“Found a food stand. Who wants a caramel apple?” Mark called out from across the small cobblestone alley where the art fair was set up. It was their day off, Akira reasoned. Why not?

“Matt hated caramel apples.” Colleen remarked after they purchased their snacks and sat down at a wooden picnic table set up near the . “The caramel would get stuck in his braces. Katie loves them, though.”

“Lance likes sweets.” Maria replied. “All of my children do, but Lance adores anything sugary.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, why the name Lance?” Mark asked. “I mean, uh, was that rude? I didn't mean to be rude, just curious.” His pale face flushed a bright pink, and Akira wondered if the man’s ears would burst into little flames. Maria smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, when I was a girl I read a translation of Arthurian legends.” Maria explained. “And my favorite character besides Merlin was Lancelot. It was so romantic, and I decided I would name one of my children Lancelot. But it is such a mouthful to say, so Lance is just Lance.”

“It’s a fine name.” Akira said. “Takashi was named after one of my wife’s brothers. It is an older name, but it fit him well.” Takashi was a noble person in bearing and spirit. In Akira’s eyes, Takashi was the embodiment of his formal name. Shiro was the name Takashi used with his teammates and friends, but he would always be Takashi in Akira’s eyes.

“Hunk got his nickname because there was a misunderstanding. It just stuck, and was better than any nickname we could come up with.” Mark said. “He doesn’t use his birth name often.”

“Matt was a traditional name in Sam’s family. Katie is…” Colleen sighed and shook her head. “Katie was named after this song her father likes. She has a nickname, Pidge. She prefers that, but lets me call her Katie.”

“Pidge? Like, Pidgin language?” Akira asked.

“Maybe. I never asked.” Colleen replied. “It might have even been after the bird. You never know with Katie.”

“I wonder about Keith.” Maria said softly. “I know that your son’s friend is looking for him, but she is still far away.” Their group descended into silence as they watched a group of children hop in and out of a small fountain burbling in the center of a tiny courtyard. They did not see those children in that moment, but the ones they worried over.

Akira did not show his worries as Maria did. The woman wore her heart on her sleeve. Yet he worried about Keith as much as he worried over the other missing cadets, perhaps even more so. Keith was special to Takashi. The way his grandson spoke of the boy, it was almost as if he had found the little brother he always wanted and never had. And when he looked over the simulation scores and everything the boy accomplished, Akira felt the same connection- the boy was a pilot, an explorer, and he needed a family. He needed a home, but he had none. He just disappeared.

No one should just disappear.

“I heard from Malini this morning.” Colleen said. “She said she was going to drive down to the Garrison tomorrow for work, and then hike out to where she thought Keith might have run off to.”

“She better not tell the Garrison what she’s planning, then.” Mark replied before finishing off his caramel apple. He glanced around at the tents and booths near their table before his eyes rested on the children jumping into the fountain. It was a pleasant day, Akira thought. They could almost forget about Galaxy Garrison when it was so lovely outside.

“Should we go down with her?” Akira asked. Hikers often disappeared in the desert. Disoriented by heat and exhaustion, people would wander off the path and into the desert. They would fall into canyons and stumble into ditches. They would be lost. Even a young woman with survival training could lose themselves in the desert. In a battle for survival against nature, nature tended to win.

“No.” Colleen said firmly. “She’s driving down with a coworker, so she isn’t alone. And we should be here to contact the police if she doesn’t get back to us.” Her argument was reasonable, though Akira still felt uneasy. Perhaps it was because the girl was a friend of Takashi’s, one of the few people who knew and remembered his grandson as something more than a tragic hero on the news. Perhaps it was because he didn’t want another person to disappear because of Galaxy Garrison’s tight grip on information. Perhaps he was just a little old fashioned and didn’t like the idea of a young woman going off somewhere on her own. It was a complicated matter, but Colleen was right. They had to take a back seat.

“I do not like it.” Akira said. “But we can’t make her stay put. She is an adult.”

“It’s hard.” Maria agreed. “Letting someone go into danger. We’ll be here to support her if she needs it.”

“Exactly. And since Akira and I live close by, Malini can always call on us.” Colleen added. It was a bit sad to realize that they wouldn’t be able to work together like this. At the end of the week they would go their separate ways: Mark back to his home in Hawaii, Colleen to Colorado, and Maria back to Cuba. Akira would remain in his home. They would return to their daily routine, though now they would have each other.

“At least we won’t feel useless, when we all go back home.” Mark said. “I’ll feel like I’ve done something, instead of just sitting around waiting.”

“I expect the Garrison will have to give us something to work with soon. Something beyond ‘I’m sorry, we’re doing our best.’” Colleen replied. “They can’t keep us silent with that for long. They’ll have to give us more.”

“I hope you’re right.” Akira murmured, looking out over the tiny plaza to watch the children bounce around in the fountain, splashing each other with icy water and screeching with delight. “I hope you’re right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has questions, I always welcome them in the comments! Thank you all for your patience and interest in this story.


	14. Maria

Maria was sad to return to Cuba.

She was happy to return home, of course. She missed Jorge, she missed her children, she missed the ocean and the scent of salt water and the sound of seagulls. She missed her garden, the bright flowers and scent of earth and the vegetables growing in their plots. She missed the stray cat that Lance fed and pampered, the one Diego was now caring for. She missed the rhythm of her daily life.

But Maria hated leaving New Mexico with the feeling that she had accomplished nothing. Her son was still missing, and they still had more questions than answers. And it wasn't just her bright little boy. There were three other students just like her son, just like her Lance, and they were gone too. Gone without a trace. She added the other cadets to her prayers: inquisitive Pidge, compassionate Hunk, enthusiastic Lance… and Keith. 

Maria hated that a school file told them so much and yet so little about the young man. He was a top pilot and excellent athlete, but that told her barely anything about him as a person. Akira said that the boy was a loner, angry and aloof. But Lance had always spoken of Keith, and he never sounded like an angry or arrogant boy. Best pilot in the class. Top sim scores. Eats pizza with ketchup. He sounded like a normal teenager to Maria, and every teenager needed an adult sometimes.

Maria was not happy that she had to leave without a word about her son or his whereabouts. She had to leave with nothing but a “Sorry, Mrs. Martinez.” That wasn't good enough for her. Where was her son? Where were his friends? Why was no one frantically looking for these missing children besides herself and few others? Four teenagers were missing in the desert, and only their families seemed to care.

Maria was going to miss her new friends the most. They had only known each other for a week, but Maria had never known such fast or good friends as Akira, Mark, and Colleen. They were so different from herself, so accomplished and brilliant, but they liked her. They took her seriously. They listened and agreed with her, and they never treated her like a burden.

“You really should consider going into law. Or at least legal work.” Colleen had said as they packed up their bags to return to their homes that evening. “Possibly technical writing. You have a good eye and good instincts.” No one had ever thought Maria Martinez was good enough to be anything but some island girl. Colleen clearly thought differently. It was flattering.

“That is very kind of you, Colleen.” Maria replied, but she didn't really believe it. Colleen was very honest and direct, but she was also incredibly kind. She was only giving compliments to be polite, surely!

“I’ll write you a recommendation.” Colleen insisted. “You’re very good, Maria. Any law firm would be lucky to have you as a legal aide.”

“I don't think I’m cut out for that life, writing reports and cases.” Maria confessed shyly. “I like writing poetry more.”

“Poems?” Mark had wandered into the living room with his engineering pad in one hand and duffle bag in the other. He grinned at the two women as he leaned his skinny body up against the door frame.

“I like Shel Silverstein.” Mark continued. “And Dr. Suess. Silly stuff, really, but I’m the most uncreative person I know.”

“I was never into poetry. Read too much Dickinson as a child, and it killed my interest.” Colleen said. “But I think you should write, Maria. You have a talent for words.”

Maria had wanted to protest. She wasn't talented, or particularly good at writing. She just loved poetry, music, the way words danced on pages and sang in her ears. She sang nonsense rhymes to her children when they were small, and each of her boys and girls had a little song for them, silly mother poems. But if her friends thought it was worth pursuing, perhaps it was not so silly.

“I will think on it.” Maria promised. What was the harm of writing a few silly poems when she had a moment of time? It would be something to do between daily tasks and helping Colleen file their cases against Galaxy Garrison. She would need something to pull her out of that technical work and the upsetting thoughts about Lance and where he could have gone.

“You should.” Akira called out from outside the room. “I would like to hear your work someday.”

“Then someday you will!” Maria replied, and that was that.

The drive to the airport was quiet. They rode separately, as Akira was going to drive back to his home, Colleen would return to her home in Colorado, and Mark was catching his flight back to Hawaii. Maria returned her rental car and went to the airline desk for her boarding pass. Mark was on another flight, but at least she had a companion to go through security with. At least she wasn’t going back completely alone and hopeless.

“Have a safe flight.” Akira told them as they stood in front of the security checkpoint. It was time for goodbyes, even if they were just temporary goodbyes. They would see each other again. They were tied together now, Maria thought, tied through the friendships their children shared and the strange fate that made them suddenly disappear.

“Call when you get back home safely.” Colleen added. “No matter the time.”

“I’ve got an overnight in LA, so I’ll call you when I get in a hotel.” Mark said. He looked to the ground, shuffling his feet and shifting his weight slightly.

“It’s… well, the reasons we met sucked, but I’m glad I met all of you.” Mark said sheepishly. “It's been good.”

“I’m glad something good came of this.” Maria replied. “I’m glad we are all here.”

“We will see each other again.” Akira promised. “And we will keep in touch. As soon as a suitable interview is arranged, I will let you know.”

“You can always call me.” Colleen said. “Any time you need to talk, even if it isn’t involved with the case.” Colleen meant it. Maria knew in that moment that if she called at two in the morning just to talk, Colleen would listen without anger or judgement. Maria marveled at the fact that she had made a friend, so many friends, so unlike herself, and yet their differences made their friendship all the stronger.

Maria reached out and pulled Colleen into a hug. She stretched her left arm out and pulled Mark into the embrace, then reached for Akira (who reluctantly joined them). They embraced in front of the security checkpoint, and the crowds of people coming and going flowed around them like a river.

“We’re a team.” Maria whispered fiercely. “And we’re a good team.”

“Damn right.” Mark declared. “We’re a team.”

“We’re not doing this alone.” Akira promised. “None of us are alone, not anymore.”

“And we won’t be alone again.” Colleen said.

Eventually Maria had to let them go. There were places to go, and they couldn’t stay there forever. But she and Mark stepped back, and Colleen and Akira waited.

“Safe travels.” Akira murmured, and it was time to leave. Mark went through security with a few jokes and smiles, but he waited for Maria at the end of it all. Security scanned Maria’s tickets, her passport, and gently reminded her that she would have to go through the whole process all over again when she reached Atlanta and went into the international terminals. When she finally exited the other side and slipped on her shoes, Mark walked with her down the enormous hall. Maria turned back to look through the glass revolving doors to the other side of security. Akira and Colleen were still there. Maria raised her hand and waved goodbye. Akira nodded an acknowledgment and farewell. Colleen waved back. Mark waited with Maria at her gate, and Maria was grateful for the company. They didn’t say much. There wasn’t much to say that hadn’t already been said. It was just pleasant to stand with a friend in silence. When a flight attendant announced that there would be boarding, Mark gave her a quick goodbye hug.

“You get back to your family and let them know that things are going to be okay.” Mark told her.

“You too, Mark.” Maria replied, and she slipped into the line to board the plane. She stepped into the plane and when the door was shut and they shot up into the sky, Maria took a deep breath to still her trembling hands. She was alone, but not for long.

Atlanta was uneventful. She hopped into the international terminal and back onto a plane, took a nap, and woke up in Cuba. She patiently waited for other passengers to de-board, shuffled her way out of the plane, patiently waited for her turn to walk out of security. When she walked down the stairs and turned the corner, there was her family. Her children, Diego, Estella, Marcus, Isabel, Jorge’s mother Estelle, and then her husband, Jorge. Maria walked faster, started to run, and when her family ran towards her she stretched her arms out wide to scoop them all up and hold them together.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” She crooned as everyone spoke together, so rapid and loud that her words were lost in the chaotic welcome. Maria knew it would be alright, for she was finally home with her family, and now she had friends who would help them find the one missing piece in this almost perfect picture. No matter how frightening the future would be, they were together. Family and friends, united in a mission to bring their own back home.

Everything would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had promised a catch up chapter, so here it is! Now I'm back on track with my updates! I'll be back with another update on Wednesday, and we'll finally see what Malini has been up to in the desert! Thank you all for reading. I appreciate it!


	15. Malini

Malini stepped out of the passenger’s side of Haru’s beat-up green SUV and into the bright New Mexico sunshine. She took a flight to Albuquerque two days after Asha’s wedding, and met Haru at the airport. They drove up to northwestern New Mexico and the dig site. It was a quiet ride. Haru asked polite questions about the wedding and her trip while pop music played gently in the background. Haru was one of those calm, gentle people who brought peace wherever they went. Malini needed a little bit of that peace right now. Baba had given her a precious gift, his understanding, but it did not bring her any peace when her mind was in turmoil. Panic and worry and fear and rage beat against her sanity like ocean waves in a hurricane, eroding the last bits of calm she had left. So she soaked up the quiet like a sponge and tried to relax, but her mind went back to the conversation she had with Mrs. Holt. Matt’s mom.

Mrs. Holt said there were more kids missing, that it wasn't just Keith. She said that she was looking for him, looking for all the kids, and that there were more parents and families and people than just them. She wasn't alone. Not anymore. So Malini told her her plans, that she was going to borrow a car and drive down south to look for Keith. But first she had to settle into her latest job.

They were supposed to work with an archeological group at the site, providing technical assistance for the researchers. It was an outreach program, military and civilians working together to bridge past, present, and future knowledge or some other bullshit. Malini knew that Haru wasn't telling her something, and she didn't press for details. Not yet. So when she finally exited the car and looked around the camp, it was a bit of a surprise.

It was a rocky region, the landscape all red clay and scrubby desert sagebrush. White tents rose out of the dirt like sharp snow covered mountain peaks. Silver trailers glistened in the distance. But one enormous white tent loomed over the smaller ones, the Everest among the insignificant tents. Malini pointed to it.

“What’s with the big tent?” Malini asked, and Haru shook his head.

“Our project. The team leader can tell you more..” Haru said. “Since we’re here for a while, Galaxy Garrison supplied camping trailers. We’ll be set up at a park for the month, drive to the nearest town for groceries, and work in the desert with an archeological team studying the pueblo ruins.” Haru pointed over to the group of shiny silver trailers. Malini shaded her eyes with her hand and tried to count the trailers. One, two, three… ten? It looked like ten. Galaxy Garrison spared no expense.

This was not some bullshit outreach program. So what sort of project was this?

“You’ll have to share with me and one of the archeologists. I hope you don’t mind.” Haru added. “Alexei is pleasant enough company. We have bunk beds.”

“Height of luxury.” Malini muttered, and Haru led her around the camp. Haru offered to take her bags to the camper before taking her around the camp to introduce her to a few of the other Garrison graduates and the archeological team they would be working with. The faces and names swam in Malini’s head, but she smiled and said hello and tried to be polite. Her smile felt more than a little strained.

“Professor Montgomery is here as our project lead. I’ll let him know you’re here.” Haru offered as they walked past another tent full of people avoiding the hot noonday sun, but Malini shook her head.

“I’ll do it. He might as well scold me for being late without getting mad at you too.” Malini explained. Haru rolled his eyes and smiled.

“He will surely understand, you asked for leave.” Haru said patiently.

“Hopefully. If everything is going well he’ll be happy.” Malini waved him away and headed towards another white tent out in the desert, a tent with the orange Galaxy Garrison emblem emblazoned on the canvas. It stood next to the big tent, and Malini craned her neck to try and get a peek inside the dark interior. All she could really make out were a few lights, and someone putting on a hazmat suit. Hazmat suits? Were the ancestral Pueblo peoples working with radioactive material? Were archeologists this anal about contamination? What was this all about? Malini tried to look closer, but a strong hand grabbed her shoulder.

“Patel!” A cheerful, forceful voice exclaimed. “Late as always!”

“Flight delay at LAX, Sir.” Malini said promptly, military training so drilled into her that the sir popped out of her mouth without thought. She spun around and saluted Professor Montgomery. He was one of the older professors at the Garrison, working primarily in communications, code, and linguistics. Professor Montgomery was as bright eyed and eager as people a quarter of his age, grin on his face and grey hair falling out of a stubby ponytail. He was so small and wiry that it looked like a slight breeze could knock him over, but his bounce and cheer was more like a child than a man in his seventies.

“And out of uniform.” Montgomery added cheerfully, which made Malini feel a bit self conscious in her jeans and purple blouse. “But no need for formality here, best to be practical-” He caught sight of the intricate henna designs on Malini’s hands and frowned, pointing to the mehndi with his right hand. His left arm, Malini realized, was bound up in a sling.

“Tattoos?” Montgomery asked, raising one thick eyebrow as he spoke.

“It’s mehndi. Henna. For my sister’s wedding.” Malini explained, and Professor Montgomery’s frown faded away into understanding and a little sheepishness.

“Ahh, I remember now. Thought they were tattoos, was going to tell you to go to the medic’s tent and make sure they were healing alright. An infection this far from a hospital could be dangerous.” Montgomery said. “Now, come with me and you can tell me all about your sister’s wedding while we get your paperwork in order.”

“Honestly, I’d prefer we’d get down to business.” Malini said as Montgomery led her away from the big tent and into the smaller one next to it. She turned her head back to glance behind, but the tent flap was closed and there was nothing but the white canvas surface.

“It will be paperwork and a few non-disclosure agreements, at least for the first few days here. Security will want an interview to see that you aren't about to spill secrets to foreign governments, the usual.” Montgomery explained. “Might as well chat and make the process less mind numbing.”

Malini sighed and sat down in the chair Montgomery offered her. Paperwork. There was always paperwork, but something about this seemed different from the average government project she was usually assigned to. She already had her clearance, already had her interviews. What was out here in the north New Mexico desert that was so important that they needed extra security checks? Malini stomped down the dread in her heart and picked up a pen from Professor Montgomery’s makeshift desk, a plank of wood balanced on some cinder blocks.

“Where do we start?” She asked.

It was several hours later when Malini finally left the tent. Professor Montgomery insisted on escorting her to her camper, all jovial smiles and cackling laughter. Malini noticed that Montgomery slipped his uninjured arm around her shoulders and led her away from the big tent. The Garrison was hiding something, Malini knew it. What it could be was a mystery, but she would find out soon enough. No one kept secrets from Malini Patel. Her sister said she was nosy. Shiro diplomatically suggested she was inquisitive. Matt called her a snoop. And Keith-

_“You can't ever let anyone have some breathing space, can you?” Keith had muttered once when she caught him trying to sneak off Garrison grounds for the fifth time in a week. He was always wandering off into the desert, especially with Matt and Shiro gone every few days for specialty training after they were picked for the Kerberos mission. With all eyes in the Garrison fixed on the upcoming mission, no one was paying attention to the cadets. No one but Malini, it seemed._

_“Awful lot of space to breath out there.” Malini replied. “Plenty of space to get lost, hurt, and die of dehydration. Then you’ll have lots of space as you get your eyes plucked out by wildlife while the sun bakes your corpse and bleaches your bones-”_

_“I get it! Stop being morbid!” Keith exclaimed. Malini crossed her arms and waited for the explanation she knew would come eventually._

_“I just- I just need some time alone.” Keith mumbled. “Okay?”_

_“Tell me where you’re going, and I’ll cover for you.” Malini said, and when Keith stared at her she smiled and patted his arm._

_“I just want you to come back in one piece, Keith. Tell me where you’re going and when you should be back, and I’ll make sure you don't get in trouble.” It wouldn't be hard, Malini reasoned. She’d ask for a few favors from the cadets running security. Keith rolled his eyes, pulled his phone out, and brought up a map of the surrounding area. He pointed to a small dot a few miles out. Malini pulled out her own phone and typed down the coordinates._

_“I’ll be here. I’ll be back before curfew at ten.” Keith promised. “It’s just where I go to think, I’ll be fine.”_

_“You better be.” Malini replied. “Or I’ll put you on latrine duty myself.”_

_“You are such a mom.” Keith muttered._

_“Shiro said I can put you through combat training, kiddo. Don't push it.” Malini retorted, but she ruffled his hair and walked away when he pushed at her. She stood in the shade of the hangar bay and watched Keith clamber over a fence and walk off into the desert until his bright red jacket was no more than a speck on the horizon._

“Patel? Patel, you alright?” Malini was pulled out of her memories when Montgomery shook her shoulder. She looked at the small man and gave him a sort of weak smile.

“Yeah, just thinking.” Malini replied. “Think I need some sleep, that’s all. Long day.”

“Right.” Montgomery looked like he didn’t quite believe her, but he took her to her camper. “You get some rest, Patel, you’re going to be busy tomorrow.”

“I can believe it. Night, Professor.” Malini said.

“Good night, Patel.” Montgomery walked out to another silver camper across the campsite. Malini stepped up and opened the door to the small camper before she stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

It was a surprisingly bright and cheerful little camper. It was old, but clearly well cared for. There was a tiny kitchen, with a small table tucked next to the kitchen. There was a gray couch at the front that could obviously be folded out to be a bed. A queen sized bed sat at the other end of the trailer, and a structure above the bed held another bunk. It would hold three people comfortably.

“Good evening, Malini. Have a good day?” Haru asked pleasantly. Malini rolled her eyes and crossed the small space to flop down on the couch. Haru was sitting in the dinette, and Malini could have sworn he was being sarcastic. The jerk. He liked to pretend to be polite, but every once in a while his brutal side came through.

“Nice digs.” Malini mumbled into the couch cushions. She rolled on her back and stared up at the ceiling. There was a strange sound in the trailer, like raindrops. Was it raining? Would the tents keep all the gear dry if it was raining? What about the mystery lurking inside the big tent?

“Do you have any idea what’s in that tent? You know, the giant one?” Malini asked. When Haru’s expression closed off she had her answer. He knew, and he wasn't allowed to talk about it.

“You will find out soon.” Haru said enigmatically. “But I think I should introduce you to our camper mate. When he gets out of the shower.”

Ah, a shower. That made much more sense than a sudden rainstorm. Malini was more tired than she had thought.

“Plans for dinner?” Malini asked instead. She was hungry.

“We switch chores. We’ll draw up a new chore chart tonight so we can put you on it.” Haru offered. He pointed to a colorful piece of paper taped onto the camper wall above the couch. Malini reached up and pulled it down so she could look it over. Monday, Wednesday, Friday- Haru makes dinner. Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Alexei makes dinner. Everyone washes their own dishes, laundry is done every Sunday afternoon.

“Now that you’re here we can alternate meals a little more. Saturdays we tend to go out for food. Breakfast is whatever you can grab before getting called in, and lunch is usually provided by the Garrison.” Haru explained. “Alexei will be happy to draw up a new schedule, he seems to enjoy such things.” Malini looked over the chore chart again. Haru’s cooking nights were surrounded by doodles of hearts and stars.

“Haru!” A man’s low voice sang. It was slightly muffled, as if behind a door, and Malini finally noticed the slim door situated next to the kitchen. Haru rolled his eyes and got up from the dinette booth.

“What is it, Alexei?” Haru called back.

“Can you pass me a towel?” Alexei asked.

“Of course.” Haru grabbed a fluffy blue towel off a rack and knocked on the door. It creaked open, and a large, pale hand shot out and grabbed the towel before shutting the door again.

“Thank you!” Alexei shut the door, and Haru shrugged his shoulders.

“Usually he just wanders around nude. He must have heard you come in. Wants to be polite.” Haru said.

“Oh?” Malini grinned. “Something tells me you wouldn't mind some more nudity. Maybe I should find my own camper.”

“Malini!” Haru whispered, his eyes darting to the quiet shower. “He’ll hear you!”

“Hear what, exactly?” Alexei asked, and he opened the door. He was a big guy, tall and broad with a thick head of blond hair and a rather ragged beard. His big blue eyes twinkled with good humor and excitement. Malini tried to focus on Alexei’s face instead of the fact that the towel was rather tiny on him. Haru was making some sort of choking sound behind her, so she tried to ignore that and introduce herself.

“I’m Malini Patel, Galaxy Garrison officer. I work in communications and linguistics.” Malini offered her hand out to Alexei, who took it and shook it firmly.

“Alexei Kovalenko. I also work in linguistics. Are you working on the project in the big tent, like Haru?” Alexei asked politely, as if talking to strangers while dressed in a towel and dripping water on the floor was normal for him.

“Haven’t gotten my clearance yet.” Malini replied. “So I’m waiting for that to go through again.”

“Same. But we’ll be working together soon, I trust!” Alexei laughed and crossed the camper to open a small cupboard and pull out some clothing. “After I dress I will cook dinner, do you have any preferences?” He ducked behind a makeshift curtain and changed, and Haru breathed out a sigh of what sounded like relief. Malini turned and winked at him. He scowled.

“I’m vegetarian, but I don’t have any allergies.” Malini offered, remembering that Alexei had asked her a question.

“I can work with that. Meat is expensive.” Alexei poked his head out from behind the curtain, his wet hair a bit wild. “I’m making pierogi tonight.”

“While Alexei cooks, we will arrange chore schedules. Water is limited here at the site, as we’re sharing with so many campers. We have to take turns with the showers in the camper, or drive down an hour to the national park, and you can pay five dollars to take a shower there.” Haru explained, and Malini scooted into the dinette next to Haru to listen to him explain the daily routine. As the smell of flour and potato sizzling in oil filled the air, Haru swiftly slotted Malini into the weekly schedule. Cooking was now Haru on Mondays and Thursdays, Malini had Tuesdays and Fridays, and Alexei took Wednesdays and Sundays.

“So, any plans for Saturday, Malini?” Alexei asked once he plated the pierogi and sat across from her and Haru in the dinette.

“I was planning to drive south in the morning and spend the day hiking.” Malini said.

“Hiking down south.” Haru said flatly. “Alone.”

“Yeah.” Malini tried to ignore the way Haru was looking at her, assessing her expression. He was another graduate of Galaxy Garrison. They were in the same class. Of course he would guess that “down south” meant “Galaxy Garrison,” and “hiking” meant “snooping.” And he knew how close she was to Shiro, to Matt, how she always had some doubts about the Kerberos mission. He heard her rants on the phone to Garrison officials. He heard her beg to be allowed to talk to Keith and make sure he was doing okay, and he heard every rejection. Haru might not know where she was going, but he knew why.

“Too dangerous to go alone.” Alexei said innocently. “I will hike with you! I have never been down south.”

“I don’t think you should go at all.” Haru muttered. “Down south.”

“Look, I’m going. That’s a thing that’s happening. Going down south. For a hike.” Malini replied. “I’m not sneaking onto Garrison property to do something stupid, okay?”

“This is about Shirogane’s protege, isn’t it?” Haru asked, and when Malini refused to answer he sighed. “You could get in big trouble, Malini, looking for him.” He was clearly trying to remain calm, but he was tapping his foot. Haru always tapped his foot when he was stressed.

“Someone needs to!” Malini exclaimed. “He’s just a kid! Someone needs to find him, and it’s going to be me. And you can’t stop me, Haru. You, Galaxy Garrison, the Gods themselves, no one is stopping me from doing what I should have done from the beginning! He’s a scared kid who lost his mentor, and no one was there to help him!” The camper was silent for what felt like hours, though it was probably only minutes. Alexei broke the tense quiet when he set his fork and knife down on his plate.

“I don’t know this story or all the facts, but I will go with you.” Alexei said kindly. “No one should go hiking alone, especially when they’re looking for someone.” Haru sighed and scooted out of the dinette seat. He opened the fridge, pulled out a beer, and sat back down before unscrewing the cap and taking a long drink. He set it down on the table with a loud bang, and glared at Malini.

“Fine.” Haru declared. “We go. We look. And we leave. No Garrison.” Haru said. “And we have to return before Monday. I will not have us getting in trouble at work because you have to go chase a ghost.”

“I promise. We’ll have all of Sunday to sleep the trip off and be back to fighting shape.” Malini promised. “Thank you, both of you.”

Waiting until Saturday was utter misery. Malini had nothing to do during the day save for paperwork and interviews. She and Haru went off to the closest town and bought some groceries, and Malini visited the camping site to take a shower. And it was just paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. Sign here, look at this, would you sell secrets to a foreign government, who are some contacts we can speak with? Malini thought she had gotten through this already, but evidently she needed another run through the security gauntlet. Whatever was lurking in the big tent was, well, big. Her curiosity was nearly killing her, and it was only her determination to get to Saturday without any incidents that kept Malini from trying to sneak into the big tent. Just get to Saturday, Malini told herself. Get to Saturday, and she would finally be able to look for Keith.

There were only a few things that broke her out of the monotony: her conversations with Haru and Alexei, chatting with Professor Montgomery between her interviews, just being out in the open air and sunshine, and her phone calls with Mrs. Holt. Matt’s mom was a mom, checking in on her to make sure she arrived safely and was feeling okay, and Malini’s family was busy. Asha was on her honeymoon, Ma was probably busy planning for future grandchildren, Baba was busy with work- and when Malini was being truthful with herself, she could admit that she didn’t want her family to know how she was feeling. She didn’t want them to worry. Breaking down in front of her Baba at Asha’s wedding was terrible, and Malini didn’t want another episode.

Chatting with Mrs. Holt was different. She went through what Malini went through. She lost her family, and Malini lost her two best friends in the world. It was… it was just nice to talk to someone who understood how she felt. Malini kept the conversations light when they spoke, just swapping stories about Matt. Some people might think it morbid or strange, to speak about a dead person with their mother, but Malini found some comfort in it. Someone remembered Matt. Someone had cared about him. The conversations just confirmed that.

When Saturday finally arrived, Malini woke up before the sun rose. She quietly dressed and folded up the daybed so it was once again a couch. She could hear Haru and Alexei getting dressed behind the curtain, and when they stepped out into the camper they were all ready to go. They drove out of the campsite as the sun finally climbed over the horizon, turning the morning sky pale blue and sherbert orange. They took Haru’s car, with Malini navigating and Alexei handing them water and snacks as they drove. It was relatively easy to follow the directions Keith had given her so long ago, and they drove off the highway down a smaller road, then a country road, then a dirt trail that eventually ended.

“We have a two mile hike through the canyon, and we should reach our destination soon.” Malini said as they unloaded the car, pulling out hiking packs and water. Haru locked the car and put on a floppy, wide brimmed hat. Alexei sprayed sunscreen on his pale skin and hefted a pack onto his back.

“We’re right behind you.” Alexei said cheerfully. “Do you think we’ll see a rattlesnake? I hope so, I’ve always wanted to see one. And maybe a roadrunner.”

“I’m sure we’ll see something.” Haru replied. “Malini, if we do find Keith, what do you plan to do?”

“Get him whatever he needs. Medical care, a safe place to hide out, whatever.” Malini replied. She hadn’t really thought of it. All she planned was to find Keith. Everything else was secondary to finding Keith.

“So I might be winging it.” Malini confessed. “Just a little.”

“Great.” Haru muttered. Malini ignored him, checked her map and compass, and set out down the canyon hiking trail. Alexei and Haru followed.

The sun was hot, even though it was still the morning. Malini’s calves burned as she hiked uphill and tried to not slip off the sandy path. Alexei and Haru were behind her, talking and laughing. She heard a few clicks of a camera. There was little shade, only a few minor shadows from scraggly juniper bushes and pinon trees. As the sun climbed higher and they climbed the switchback trail up the cliff, Malini wondered how Keith managed to get this far away from Garrison property when he went by foot. When they finally reached the top of the canyon, Malini looked out over the landscape.

“There’s a house over there.” Alexei pointed east, and when they followed his hand they saw a ramshackle home. Malini checked the coordinates. This was it. This was where Keith would go out to hide. Even though her legs ached, Malini started jogging, then running to the cabin in the desert. She clambered up the wooden steps and knocked on the door. She expected it to be locked, but it swung inward. Malini stepped forward and was about to enter when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“Careful!” Haru scolded. “Stop jumping in without thinking!” Alexei peered past both of them into the home.

“I don’t think anyone is home.” Alexei announced. “But I can check.”

“We should all go.” Haru insisted. “It would be safer.”

“Fine. Now can we all go inside?” Malini asked, and when Haru let go of her arm she stepped into the house. 

It was dark and cool inside, and Malini had to pull open the blinds to get some light. The light revealed the utter mess of the cabin. It wasn’t a complete wreck, but it certainly looked like a teenage boy lived there for weeks. Months, even. There was clothes draped over furniture, dirty dishes in the sink, bed unmade. It was dusty and everything was quiet. No one was there. There was evidence that someone was living here, and more evidence that there was more than one person. The couch was made up as a bed as well.

“No one’s been here in a week at least. Possibly longer.” Alexei observed as he looked through the fridge. “And whoever was here was not much of a cook.” Malini bent down to look at the fridge’s contents. Bread, jam, and peanut butter. The bread was expired. There was nothing else.

“Malini?” Haru called out from the front room. “You should come see this.”

Haru stood in front of a large board covered in maps and markings. There were pictures of strange carvings in stone and small memos pinned to the board. Alexei stepped forward and eagerly took down the pictures of the carvings.

“Ah! I recognize these! The Lion Carvings! They are fascinating, some archeologists believe they may be panthers, but I firmly believe they are of a mountain lion goddess.” Alexei started looking through the pictures, but Malini focused on the handwritten memos. They were short notes about the carvings and their location, but that wasn’t what alarmed Malini. The notes were in Keith’s handwriting.

_Had that dream again. Enormous lions._

_Meaning of lions in dreams: Strength, assertiveness, power. Could mean anger. Danger?_

_Flying in dreams: Freedom, escape?_

_Winged lions are the symbol of St. Mark- embodiment of justice. Flying lion = justice?_

“Keith was here.” Malini said softly. “He was here for weeks. Months. And no one bothered to look.” He was out here, barely taking care of himself, losing himself to whatever craziness was pinned on this board, and Malini was too busy moping to help. She was the worst sort of friend, the worst sort of mentor.

“You looked for him.” Haru reassured her. “You’re here looking for him now.”

“I should have come sooner.” Malini insisted. She should have dropped everything and looked for Keith. There was no excuse for not doing so. Now he was gone. She had just missed him, and it was all her fault.

Malini packed up what she could, the maps, the pictures, the belongings that seemed important. She came across a small box filled with Shiro’s things, his Garrison coffee mug, a few pictures that were on his desk, the hideous #1 Dad shirt Matt bought him- Keith had evidently rescued those few items from Shiro’s office before Galaxy Garrison tossed them out. He saved them. Malini clung to the boxes like a lifeline and followed Haru and Alexei out of the house.

“I think I know how he was traveling around.” Haru said softly. “You might want to come see this.” He led them to the side of the house, where a hover bike was parked under a tree. It was well maintained, though Malini saw several dings and scratches along the back. It was as if the bike was carrying a much larger load than it was built for, and the weight distribution was completely off while someone was flying. But Keith was such a shrimp! He wouldn't have brought the bike down to scrape the earth. More evidence that Keith was with someone at some point.

“He must have restored this.” Haru said as they examined the bike. “It’s an old model but it looks like it’ll run smoothly.”

“I think we might not have to hike back to the car.” Alexei replied. “Will your friend mind?”

“I don't know.” Malini sighed, feeling just one step away from a breakdown. “I really, really don't know.”

“We’ll leave it. I won't hotwire a bike.” Haru insisted, but he looked over the hover bike with envy. The bike stayed under the tree, and they hiked back down the canyon and to the car. 

The ride back north was quiet. They picked up fast food and ate as they drove. They reached the campsite before dark, stumbled out of the car, and entered their camper. Malini still clung to the boxes in her arms while Alexei hefted the large bulletin board up. The boxes were the size of two shoeboxes. It wasn't much, but it was all she had to go on. Keith wasn't where she thought he’d be. Well, he was, but he wasn't there anymore and Malini was back to square one.

“So.” Alexei said, breaking the silence that held sway over them after they entered the camper. He set the bulletin board down against the sofa. Haru took a seat in the dinette and gestured to Malini to sit down. She set the boxes on the table and tried not to cry.

“At least you know he was there.” Haru tried to comfort her. “It’s something.”

“Right. Sorry, I just-” Malini took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “I just need time to figure out what to do next-” A knock at their camper door interrupted her. Alexei stepped forward and opened the door.

“Professor Montgomery! What a surprise!” Alexei exclaimed loudly, as if his voice could cover Malini's fragile emotional state. Malini wiped her eyes and hid the boxes under the dinette. She didn’t know why hiding the boxes was her first reaction, but that was what she did before moving in front of the dinette as Professor Montgomery walked into the camper.

“Hello! Just saw your car come back in. I was looking for you three!” Professor Montgomery said cheerfully.

“We went hiking. It is our day off.” Haru said quickly. “Are you well, Professor?”

“Of course. Just wanted to take Kovalenko and Patel to the big tent. Their clearances were granted, thought they’d might to look at the damn thing they’ll be working on.” Montgomery smiled and waved his free arm. The other arm was still up in a sling.

“I’ll go.” Alexei said promptly. “We’ll all go.”

“We can wait until tomorrow, I promise.” Montgomery insisted. “If you’re all tired.”

“No!” Malini exclaimed. “We can go. We can all go.” Malini couldn’t stay in here, with all of Keith and Shiro’s things. Not right now. It was just too sad. Getting out and burying herself in her work, the reason she was out in the middle of the desert, would be a welcome relief. Just a few hours of relief. Even as she tore herself apart for abandoning her friends once again, Malini couldn’t resist the lure of finding solace in her work.

“Then if you’ll follow me.” Montgomery said, and they followed him out of the camper and into the cool night air.

Night in the desert was peaceful and cold. A slight breeze ruffled Malini’s hair, and her skin broke out in goosebumps. Electric lights lit up the darkness, dimming the stars in the sky. Professor Montgomery walked quickly through the camp, walking ever closer to the floodlights and the enormous white tent looming over all of them. Montgomery turned to them once they reached the tent’s entrance flap, his thick eyebrows furrowed and green eyes missing their customary cheerful spark.

“You’ll be in a decontamination area and will have to suit up. Thankfully there’s no need for hazmat suits.” Montgomery explained. “If you’re not comfortable with that right now, we can wait.” When no one protested, he opened the flap of the tent and they entered. They pulled on white coveralls over their bodies and slipped hairnets on over their heads (Alexei covered his beard with another hairnet). Once they were completely suited up, Professor Montgomery turned to them as a group, but looked at Alexei and Malini in particular. Haru, who had already been inside the tent, didn’t need the extra look or the lecture that followed.

“Remember, what you see here will not go beyond the tent.” Montgomery warned. “And don’t pass out, I can’t catch any of you if you do.” Malini wondered what sort of strange thing would make Montgomery think they would faint. He didn’t sound like he was joking, and Malini had a feeling he wouldn’t joke at a time like this. Montgomery opened the flap, and gestured for them to enter. Haru entered first, followed by Alexei. Malini stepped in last, and Professor Montgomery followed her. Malini hardly heard Montgomery. She hardly heard anything other than the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. She saw nothing but the sight in front of her, filling her vision and filling her heart with wonder.

“Святий дерьмо!” Alexei breathed out in awe as they took in the sight of what exactly was inside the big tent. Malini couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. The tent wasn't covering some amazing dig site, or a miraculous ancient find that needed protection. It wasn’t hiding a secret mess hall or a computer setup. It was something completely different and unexpected.

The tent was covering a space ship. 

It was not a craft Malini was familiar with. It was not like anything from this world. It was dark and sleek and smashed up at the front, but it was obviously a space ship and obviously something from another planet. Malini never thought she was a shaky sort of person, but she felt her knees trembling as she took in the sight. Everything Malini knew was turned on its head. The world had, in just a few brief moments, had become impossibly larger than it once was.

“Kovalenko, Patel, welcome to your new jobs.” Professor Montgomery declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just realized that Malini's chapters tend to run long. I do enjoy introducing new characters. And yes, Professor Montgomery is THE Professor Montgomery mentioned in Season One, Episode One. I figured that at least one Garrison higher up would be on site observing the research on the downed Galra ship.
> 
> Sorry for the delay, I had internet troubles on and off all week. I hope the longer chapter makes up for the delay! Thank you all for reading! Feel free to ask questions, I will do my best to answer them!


	16. Colleen

Colleen started the morning by taking a walk with the family dog.

Rover was getting on in years. His russet brown spots were sprinkled with white hair, and his droopy face had grown even droopier over time. He slept for hours and hours, was stinky, snored so loud it sounded like a bear, and was deaf in one ear, but he loved his morning and evening neighborhood strolls. Colleen gave him a good scratching behind his floppy ears. Rover leaned into her touch and let out a low, happy “boof.”

“It’s good to be back, Rover.” Colleen told the dog. “You were good for the pet sitter, weren't you?” Rover rolled on his back for belly rubs, which Colleen gave. Good dog. Good boy.

Colleen had called or been called by everyone in their small team. She called Akira to let him know she arrived safely in Colorado. Mark called her to let her know that he finally arrived in Hawaii and would send her his latest calculations soon. Maria called to say she was back home and that her family was doing well, and offered to send some family recipes if Colleen was interested. Malini texted her to say that she had to speak with her, but that she had to wait until she could get off her job site. She claimed that she had bad reception, but Colleen suspected that Malini didn't want to be overheard by Galaxy Garrison officials. The text was short and to the point, but it set off alarm bells in Colleen's head.

“Went out to look for Keith. I found something. Call you Sunday when I can get out of work, the reception is bad here.”

Colleen tried to tell herself that it was a perfectly normal reason to wait for a call, but the text unsettled her. It was too much like Katie’s last text to her. She held back from calling Malini and demanding an answer, but the anxiety pushed her to go do something. So she clipped on Rover’s harness and packed up a bag filled with water, treats, and disposable bags, and she drove to a hiking trail to take a short walk. Yet even a walk out in the woods couldn't keep Colleen from worrying.

“Do you think she’ll be okay, Rover?” Colleen asked. The old dog wagged his tail, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted. She guessed that was dog for “yes.” Or it was dog for “give me treats.” Colleen sighed and dug through her bag for a peanut butter treat. She gave it to Rover, who snatched it up with one great gulp. Colleen patted his head and began walking again. They passed a few joggers, a biker with a child trailer hitched to their bike, and at least three bird watchers.

“Nice day for it.” Colleen muttered. Sam was an avid bird watcher, but he liked watching everything that moved and lived. The world was an interesting place for Sam, and he liked watching and experiencing it all. Matt and Katie never shared their father’s passion for nature, preferring their computers to the outdoors and bugs. But Colleen went on enough morning and evening walks with her husband to make up for their children refusing to participate in their nature hikes.

Rover tired out eventually. He was no longer a young dog, and he was a lazy one even when he was young. One long walk in the morning and a short walk in the evening was plenty for him. Colleen herded Rover into the car and drove back home, had breakfast, and went to her office. Rover fell asleep on his bed in the corner, snoozing in the sun. Colleen sat in front of her desk, and she began her work.

She called Sweetwater Police again to ask for any further details on Keith Park, but was politely directed to his social worker. She called Mrs. Devine again, but reached her voicemail. Again. Colleen took a deep breath, and drafted an email to Galaxy Garrison requesting full files on her son and daughter. She sent emails to the others, to Mark and Maria, suggesting they ask the Garrison for the files on their children. Or, in Mark’s case, have his sister in laws ask for their son’s files. Mark replied quickly with an “OK. Got it. -Mark.” An hour later Maria responded.

“Colleen! So good to hear from you!

Of course I will ask the Garrison to send me Lance’s file. Would you read over my email before I send it? I do not want the Garrison to think that they can pull a fast one over me, just because I’m a from a poor country and haven’t had an education like others.

I hope you are doing well back in your home. Is Colorado a nice place? I have heard that there is snow there in the winter, which sounds exciting! But it will be some time before there is snow. In any case, I hope you are doing well and taking care of yourself. It is sunny here in Santa Clara, and my family is doing well. I fried plantains today, and then I went through the cases again. Do you think we should file, or do you think Galaxy Garrison will speak with us soon? They have not called me yet. Have they spoken with you?

Stay safe, and lots of love!

Maria”

Colleen couldn’t help but smile after reading Maria’s email. Maria’s cheerfulness killed the headache and dark mood Colleen felt building inside her head that day after her walk with Rover and her quick breakfast. But she started to type up a reply to Maria’s email.

“Hi Maria!

I’m glad you got back to your family safely. The weather has been a little rainy of late, so a little sunshine sounds lovely. I took my dog for a walk, and he’s sleeping on his doggy bed. He’s snoring right now and chasing squirrels in his dreams.

I would be happy to look over your email for you before you send it to the Garrison. I think you will be fine, but it’s no trouble. Galaxy Garrison has been frustratingly tight lipped, but they can’t reject a parent’s request for their child’s records. I think we’ll have to hold on filing a request for an outside investigation, but since we have a long history of precedence ruling in our favor I think we can afford to wait a bit.

I hope to hear from you soon, and enjoy that weather!

Colleen”

Colleen typed up a few more email drafts to different people, then went through her contact list. Maybe there was someone who specialized in the foster care system who could give her a better idea of Keith Park’s past. If they were going to build a case about the missing cadets, they needed to know everything they could about the missing ones. Did Keith Park have a history of running away? Would he eventually show his face if he had just run away and wasn’t… wasn’t gone like the others.

Colleen didn’t want to think about what Galaxy Garrison could have done with the missing cadets. She didn’t want to think about that bright light in the desert that Katie, Lance, and Hunk ran towards in that surveillance video. There were a lot of things that Colleen didn’t want to think about, but she knew that she would have to face them eventually. But not today, Colleen thought. At least, not this afternoon. She’d fix herself a sandwich for lunch, Colleen decided. A turkey sandwich didn’t require much thought to make.

Colleen was slicing up a tomato when Malini called her. Colleen set her phone up on a windowsill so she and Malini could speak face to face. She couldn't quite tell where Malini was. There were fluorescent lights overhead, and the tinny sound of old pop music playing in the background. She also seemed to be moving around, and white earbuds dangled from Malini’s ears. Her dark hair was caught up in a ponytail, strands of it sticking to her neck and forehead.

“Hello, Malini. How are you?” Colleen asked politely. Malini smiled, but Colleen could tell it was tired and strained.

“Hey, Mrs. Holt.” Malini whispered. “I couldn't get away yesterday, so I said I needed to buy extra groceries today for dinner and got the car.”

“Is there a problem?” Colleen asked. Give her a few hours and she could be down in northern New Mexico before sunset. It was no trouble at all. Early afternoon sunlight poured into her kitchen.

“Galaxy Garrison is monitoring communication back at camp.” Malini said. “It’s- I can't say anything about it.” Malini stopped moving and reached her hand up and to the left, and Colleen realized why the perspective was so strange, why it was so bright and Malini’s face so shadowed.

Malini was at the grocery store, and she had laid her phone down in the grocery cart. She wanted to look like a regular shopper having a conversation, a conversation she couldn't hold at her work. Colleen was more than a little worried.

“Security reasons.” Colleen guessed.

“Yeah.” Malini replied, and she started moving her cart again. “So look, I went to where I thought Keith was. It was this shack in the desert, a couple of miles outside Garrison property. He wasn't there when I arrived.” Malini dropped in a sack of potatoes, then some tomatoes, squash, and onions. It was as if she kept tossing in more vegetables to distract herself from something.

“But he had been there.” Colleen said. Malini’s expression gave it away. Her dark brown eyes were full of sadness and self-blame, even as she glared at bell peppers.

“He’d been there for ages.” Malini finally said. “He was barely scraping by, doing- I don’t even know what he was doing. He had this push pin board covered in pictures and yarn and-” Malini’s whisper bordered on hysterical, and she snapped her mouth shut and took a deep breath. Colleen watched as the girl tried to compose herself, become an ordinary shopper once again. She was so young, Colleen thought. So very young.

“It was like one of those things you see in a crime show. You know, the detective makes some enormous yarn web to track a criminal, but Keith was looking for something else. Like, looking for this- this sounds so stupid, but one of my coworkers thinks he was looking for these weird cave drawings about a mountain lion goddess?” Malini sighed. “I don’t know. But Keith was at that shack, and at some point before he left he had company. He’s been gone for at least a week.”

“Company?” Colleen repeated. Keith had guests in his cabin, a cabin near Galaxy Garrison. What if- it seemed too much to hope for.

“Yeah. His couch was made up as a bed.” Malini murmured. “And his hoverbike had damage all along the bottom, like he was carrying extra weight in the back. An extra person, maybe.”

“What about three extra people?” Colleen asked. Guests, three guests. Maybe the kids, the cadets, her kid- Katie, Hunk, Lance- maybe they had found Keith? Could it be?

“Three? I guess it’s possible? I don’t know much about bikes, but Keith was kind of tiny so he could have carried three passengers.” Malini replied. “I was going to head down later in the week again, get my coworkers to hike with me so I won’t be alone-”

“Call Akira Shirogane. Takashi’s grandfather.” Colleen suggested. “He can help you look.”

“Shiro’s grandpa?” Malini repeated. “I’ll… well, if you think it might help.” She sounded doubtful.

“He knows the area, he might be able to help you.” Colleen assured Malini. “It couldn’t hurt.”

“You’ve got a point.” Malini admitted. She glanced up from the cart and sighed.

“I have to end the call, I’m almost at checkout.” Malini whispered.

“Send me an email if it’s easier.” Colleen insisted. “I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“I’ll sneak out if you need me to call again.” Malini promised. “Mrs. Holt, I’m going to be fine, I promise. I’ll be careful.”

“I know. But anything could happen.” Colleen said. “Just be careful, Malini.”

“I will be. Bye, Mrs. Holt.” Malini waved farewell and ended the message. Colleen leaned against her kitchen counter and stared at the slices of tomato on her cutting board. They could be alive, Colleen realized. They could all be alive and wherever Keith was, lost in some cave or- Colleen tried to calm herself down. Deep breaths. Don’t panic. Once she could breathe again, Colleen went back to her office and sat down at her desk.

It was time to tell the others everything she had found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I appreciate it! Please leave comments and questions, and I'll do my best to answer them.
> 
> Thanks again!


	17. Mark

Mark sat out on the beach with a yellow engineering pad, a pen, and his computer. He had a soda nestled in the cooler, sat under an umbrella and lathered himself with sunscreen, and when he wasn't furiously typing out calculations and running programs, he watched Lani and her sisters play in the water. Maybe it was a little morbid to celebrate a birthday when a member of their family was missing, but they all knew Hunk. He would have been right in the middle of it all before running off to the kitchen to make something for the family.

“How’s the work going?” A calm, low voice asked politely. Mark looked up toward the direction the voice came from. Elizabeth, his sister in law’s wife, stood in front of him in her aqua colored beach dress and enormous cat eye sunglasses. A floppy straw hat covered her short, pale blonde hair, fashionably cut in a sleek bob. Elizabeth was one of those painfully elegant women, a former model turned businesswoman who went to Hawaii on a vacation to celebrate her divorce, met Kona, and was married three months later. The whirlwind romance stuck, and Elizabeth was brought into the fold as a Garrett as much as Mark was, outsiders who were now insiders.

“Not as much progress as I’d like, but there’s progress.” Mark replied. He scooted over to share the shade of the umbrella, and Elizabeth gracefully sank down into the sand and stared out at the water. There was Kona, hopping on Lani’s back and shrieking with delight as they battled with their older sisters, Alani and Iolana, in a game of chicken.

“Tell me everything you can.” Elizabeth said. “Everything you haven't told us.” Her crisp accent made the words sound all the more forceful.

“I’ve told you everything the Garrison told me.” Mark replied. He really couldn’t think of anything he could add. There was nothing he could say that wouldn’t worry Elizabeth and Kona more. But wasn’t that the job of a parent? To worry about their kids?

“But there’s more, isn't there? There has to be more.” Elizabeth insisted, taking off her glasses and floppy hat. The breeze blew her pale hair into her face. She had dark circles under her eyes, and Mark wondered how he could have missed that. Elizabeth had always taken great care with her appearance, even trying to hide her tears when Hunk went to the airport to fly to Galaxy Garrison for the first time. It wasn't until Hunk gave her a hug and said “Mum, you can cry,” that she even shed a tear. For her to leave the house looking anything less than perfection was unlike her.

“I wish there was more to show for all this. Got an email from Colleen. She said her son’s friend found out where one of the missing cadets was, and that he might have had guests, and Hunk and his pals ran off in that direction, but it’s just a lot of maybes.” Mark said. “And I’ve been going through all this code, just to see if there’s a coverup going on at the Garrison. A lot of maybes.”

“And maybes won't be of any use to us.” Elizabeth sighed. “Damn it all, I feel useless! I’ve got nothing to offer and my son is the one in trouble.”

“You’ve done a lot, Liz. It just… there’s not much we can do.” Mark said. It felt like a weak platitude, and he hated it. He knew Elizabeth hated it too from the way she pursed her lips. They watched as their wives were tackled into the water by their older sisters and the chicken battle devolved into a splashing fight.

“So what are you doing, Mark?” Elizabeth asked.

“Looking at satellite and radio signals. I’m trying to calculate distance and unscramble some code.” Mark explained quickly. “My computer’s running a simulation so I have to babysit it, and everything I’m decoding is just riddled with this bug called Voltron. Word keeps popping up in everything, I think it might be a virus Colleen’s kid had on her computer.”

“What makes you think it’s a bug?” Elizabeth prodded. “Go on, tell me.”

“It just randomly shows up in the code. Maybe it’s scrambling it?” Mark suggested, but it sounded weak. Why did he think it was a virus or a mistake? What if it wasn’t?

“What if it isn’t random?” Elizabeth asked. “What if it’s a code word, an acronym?”

“What could it even stand for?” Mark wondered.

“It must mean something. I don't believe in coincidences.” Elizabeth said firmly. “We just need a new perspective.”

“I wouldn't know where to start. It’s just a random word in the code right now. Maybe Colleen could figure it out, her kid might have said something.” Mark suggested.

“What else have you been looking into? Is there anything I can do?”

“Want to look through the emails I sent to my buddies who worked on the Kerberos shuttle? They sent me stuff on the mission-” Mark explained.

“Why are you looking at Kerberos?” Elizabeth interrupted.

“Katie- Colleen’s daughter- she was looking into it. Her dad and brother went down in that shuttle. And she disappeared with Hunk and his roommate.” Mark explained. “There was video footage.”

“Lance.” Elizabeth supplied helpfully. “They disappeared together and-” Elizabeth bit her lip and looked away, back to the water.

“And it might have something to do with Kerberos.” Mark said. “Katie seemed to think the shuttle didn't go down because of pilot error. She seemed to think there was a government coverup.”

“Wouldn't that be typical.” Kona announced her arrival by flopping down on the sand and resting her head on her wife’s lap. Her curly dark hair spilled over Elizabeth’s legs and trailed in the sand. 

“Did you talk to Mark about the thing?” She asked.

“Not yet, darling.” Elizabeth said gently, leaning over to press a light peck of a kiss on the tip of her wife’s nose. “I was working up to it.”

“Okay, I’ll do it. Mark, we want in. I know we're not super nerds like you but Hunk’s our kid. What needs to be done?” Kona asked. “Do you need extra eyes? Hands? Someone to make phone calls? Elizabeth sounds like a princess, she could scare the Garrison if she puts on her haughty act.”

“Hunk’s our son. We’ve languished here in our worries and sorrows long enough.” Elizabeth said firmly. “We can't just let this happen to us.”

“I… look, I don't want to be a downer, but it’s possible that Hunk might be, well…” Mark couldn't even voice his greatest fear, that his nephew was dead, that whatever that light in the desert was was something that killed him and his friends.

“Then it’s our responsibility to find that out, baby.” A voice said in his ear as two strong arms wrapped around him. Mark shut his eyes and leaned back into Lani, and felt himself unwind.

“You’ve been driving yourself crazy, trying to be the big man and keep us away from the tough shit.” Lani murmured. “Big strong guy. But we’re a family, we do this together.”

“Yeah, that’s me, super strong.” Mark joked. “Can I open a jar for you?”

“I’ve got a car that needs fixing, is that manly enough work?” Alani said dryly. “But Lani’s right, Mark. We’re a family. No one is leaving anyone behind.”

“Yes.” Iolana added. “And as soon as Toa and the kids show up we’re going to go back to my house, Alani and Kona will cook dinner, and you’re going to sit down and tell us everything. Even the unpleasant bits.”

“We can handle this, Mark.” Lani said softly. “And we need to know. We can't let some government cover up keep our kid away from us.”

“Garretts?” Mark asked.

“Garretts.” Lani agreed. “Now let's get our boy back home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! I hope I can keep up with my update schedule! If anyone has any questions or comments feel free to leave a comment!


	18. Akira

Akira drove down into the desert to meet with Malini and her coworkers. The sun was hot, reflecting off sand and bright red canyon rocks. It kept getting into his eyes, and he adjusted his sunglasses on his nose. It may have been early morning, but it was still hot and the temperature was rising. He let the radio play quietly in the background, a soft violin concerto in a major key crackling in and out as Akira drove.

He was surprised that Malini had called him to ask for his help exploring some old caves in the south of the state. It wasn’t until the girl confessed that she had a feeling that the missing cadets (or at least one of them) had been around that area that Akira understood why Malini wanted someone else around. She probably wanted an adult on the scene, Akira reasoned, in case they find the worst. Even when you were fully grown, it was comforting to have someone more experienced than yourself around when you were out of your depth. Akira sometimes wished he still had that comfort, that security blanket, but he had to be the dependable one. He had to be strong.

It was hard to remain steady when Malini talked to him on the phone earlier that week.

“Captain Shirogane? Uh, well, when I went out to that cabin in the desert…”

“Akira, please. I’m only Captain Shirogane on formal occasions.” Akira joked. “But what did you find at the cabin?”

“Keith, he’s Shiro- I mean Takashi- Takashi was his mentor. I know that Keith was staying there, the whole cabin was filled with his stuff, so I got what I could. But… well, I found some of your grandson’s things there too.” Malini said softly. “A box of stuff from his office, some photos and notebooks, a shirt, a jacket, lots of receipts-”

“Takashi was always meticulous.” Akira replied. Takashi saved everything, neatly clipping his receipts together, arranging his photographs in albums and shuffling them around on the wall, saving every novelty and gag gift he received from his friends- Takashi was a magpie, carefully arranging and sorting through his horde of objects to display them at their best advantage. Malini’s discovery of the explained why Akira couldn’t find some of Takashi’s things. Keith must have taken them.

“He saved all these pictures of us. Him, Matt, Keith, and me. He saved every single one, had them in frames that shuffle through all the photos. He even printed a few of them.” Malini said. “I didn’t realize how much he saved.”

“That was how my grandson was.” Akira murmured. “Where did you want to meet, again?”

So now he was driving down the road, pulling up to a nearly abandoned trailhead, waiting in the morning sunlight, all just to figure out what had happened to his grandson’s protege. He didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know what he was going to do if they found Keith. He didn’t know what to do if they didn’t find the boy. Akira was certain they would find nothing, and he would have to be strong enough to keep on going. Don’t let the boy be dead, Akira thought to whatever was out there listening. Keep him alive.

The small dirt parking lot had one other car in it- a black SUV covered in light brown dust. As he pulled up and parked three people exited the car. Akira vaguely recognized the short Asian man as one of Shiro’s peers, a foreign exchange student who stayed on in the Galaxy Garrison program. Was it Haku? Haru? Akira was almost positive the man’s name was Haru. He did not look happy to be there, but he had packed a large hiking pack and held up a bottle of sunscreen to one of his companions.

The second man present was completely unfamiliar to Akira. He was a blond giant of a man with a great blond beard and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a faded blue baseball cap and long sleeves, and he took the sunscreen from Haru and slathered it on his exposed skin. He grinned and talked to Haru, expression relaxed and cheerful. Akira had a strong feeling that this young man was not in any way associated with Galaxy Garrison.

The last person was the one Akira remembered, though it was strange to see her out of uniform. The last time they saw each other was at the funeral, when she wore a black dress and kept her dark hair bound back in a severe bun. But now she wore color, a bright purple shirt emblazoned with the words “Ask Me About My Knife Shoes” printed on the front. She wore shorts, worn down looking hiking boots, and a large pack on her back. Akira had forgotten how small Malini truly was. Yes, in all the pictures Shiro sent she only came up to his chest, but it seemed that everyone forgot her slight stature when meeting with her. She was so exuberant and forceful that she seemed larger than life. She tapped on Akira’s passenger window, and he turned off the car and opened the driver side drawer.

“Good to see you, sir- I mean Akira.” Malini said hastily. She reached a hand up to the end of her long braid and began to twist it around in her fingers. Nervous tic? Akira stepped out of the car and unpacked his hiking gear. Good thing he was still in excellent shape, Akira thought as he pulled out his pack and water. It would be a difficult hike in this heat. They would have to take it easy.

“It is good to see you again, Malini. You look well.” Akira said warmly. There were circles under the young woman’s dark brown eyes, but she did not look as exhausted and heartbroken as she did during the funeral.

“I’ve been better, but you know. All this stuff with Keith, the police are being really tight lipped.” Malini shrugged. “And work’s been- well, it’s been work.”

“Anything interesting?” Akira asked, and judging from the way Malini shut her mouth and shifted her eyes away from Akira, he guessed that her work was both very interesting and very secret. It was not something he could pry into yet.

“Can’t say.” Malini said, then gestured to her companions. “These are my coworkers, they wanted to come down and help me look. Haru’s a graduate of Galaxy Garrison. He’s an engineer.”

“A pleasure to meet you, sir.” Haru said politely, having jogged over to hand the sunscreen over to Malini. “You were one of the people who inspired me to go into the space exploration program.”

“I’m honored to have been an inspiration.” Akira replied. So many years and so many people, but it was still a surprise to know how many lives he touched because he wanted to fly and explore. Sometimes Akira wondered if it was a good thing. Takashi might be alive if he wasn’t so determined to follow his grandfather’s footsteps. But perhaps it would have happened regardless. Takashi had flying in his blood.

“Malini, you did not say that your Mr. Shirogane was The Mr. Shirogane!” The blond man whispered. “You did not breathe a word!”

“I thought you knew?” Malini sounded a little puzzled. “Don’t worry, he’s pretty cool.”

“My son would argue otherwise. I was a very uncool dad.” Akira joked. “I made him eat his vegetables.”

“This is Alexei. He’s a linguist working with us at the site up north.” Malini explained. “He decided to come along and help.”

“I’ve always wanted a chance to see the Lion Carvings in person.” Alexei added. “But if I can help Malini find her friend, then it will be a very good trip.”

“We should start, so we reach the cave before noon.” Haru insisted. “Then we will be in the shade while we look for Keith Park.”

“If we find him, or any of the missing cadets Mrs. Holt told me about, we drop everything and help them out. And if- if-” Malini’s voice trailed off, and she looked down towards the trail with something akin to terror in her face.

“If they are dead.” Akira said gently. “If they are dead we will contact authorities. I will handle the calls to family members.” He hoped that, if the worst had happened and the children were dead, that he would find them first. He was certain he could handle it.

You don’t know that the cadets are dead, Akira told himself. It was far more likely that they were alive and lost, or alive and being held by the Garrison. But something about what lay ahead made Akira more than a little wary.

“We will start hiking. If we keep a steady pace we should reach the cave entrance in an hour.” Haru informed them, and he set out. Alexei followed behind, holding out his phone and rapidly speaking in- was that Russian?

“He’s acting like it’s a bother, but Haru wants to help.” Malini explained as they began to walk down the path. “He knew Keith, a little, and he knew one of the other missing cadets. Hunk? I think it was Hunk.”

“Hunk and Lance. I was their RA.” Haru called back. “And I gave Keith detention several times for trying to sneak out of the dorms after curfew.”

“He cares.” Malini insisted. “He’s only pretending.”

“Of course.” Akira replied. They continued to walk down the hiking trail, taking a few breaks for water and resting. Alexei pulled out granola bars and shared them with the group. It was hot and growing hotter as the day wore on, and the dust of the hiking trail stuck to them. Just as the sun reached at the height of the sky the trail ended. They stood at the top of an overlook staring down into a vast red canyon. And at the bottom of that canyon-

“Is that a sinkhole?” Haru asked as they stared at an enormous tear within in the earth. It was the size of a football field, and so deep that they couldn’t see the bottom. Akira would have said it looked like a crash site, but something about it was wrong. It didn’t look the way he would expect a crash site to look. Where was the wreckage of a ship? The burn marks? The environmental damage?

“That’s not a sinkhole.” Alexei said. “The cave with the Lion Carvings is near the bottom over there, and this-”

“It looks like something tore out of the ground, not into it.” Malini whispered. “What sort of thing bursts out of the ground?”

“I think we should look into the cave.” Alexei insisted. “It may have clues.”

“We should be careful.” Haru replied. “We go in slowly and we leave if anything goes wrong. Malini- Malini! Get back here now!” Malini had already dropped down from the ledge and was slowly climbing down to the canyon floor. Akira sighed and started to hike down the switchback trail. Haru and Alexei followed him, Haru muttering under his breath the entire hike down.

“I told her not to be reckless. I told her!” Haru exclaimed. “Did I not tell her, Alexei? I said she had to be careful and not do something stupid!”

“Yes, Haru. You did.” Alexei replied. “Malini doesn’t take directions well, does she?”

“If she breaks her leg I am not covering for her.” Haru declared, but he picked up the pace. Akira let the two younger men pass him on the switchback and made his own way down to the canyon floor. Malini was already at the bottom, dusting off her hands as Haru scolded her and Alexei handed her another water bottle. Akira waited until Malini marched past him to speak with her.

“I know you were impatient, but you should not be reckless. The switchback was safer, and you didn’t save any time.” Akira pointed out mildly.

“Right.” Malini took a deep breath. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“Go slower in the cave. We must stick together.” Akira told her. “Alexei, since you know more about the cave than any of us, we will follow your lead.”

“Of course, sir!” Alexei navigated past boulders and small crevices to reach the cave entrance, then led them down into the earth.

The tunnel was narrow and led down for some time before widening out. The light from the cave entrance gave the cavern tunnel a dim, half-twilight haze. Haru pulled out a flashlight and held it so everyone else could use a light or headlamp. They kept walking, Alexei eagerly speaking into his phone and occasionally switching to English to address the group.

“I’m taking notes. This is a fascinating space. The downward slope indicates a descent into the underworld in many cultures, I wonder if it is man made- but the easy access meant that this space was meant to be seen-” Alexei explained. “And we should reach the first markings soon! Right around this corner!”

The lion carvings were right around the corner of the cavern, taking over an entire section of cave wall with the dramatic portrayal of a sitting lion. There was something else around the corner as well, something far more disheartening.

“A cave in.” Haru said, his voice solemn as they all took in the sight of broken rock. “We need to turn back.”

“Hey, there’s water flowing here.” Malini replied. “There’s something about water and caves, what is it…”

“Water flows out of caverns.” Akira stated. “There must be another exit.” The rock had crumbled into a sinkhole, much smaller than the hole outside of the cavern.

“We can head down this way!” Alexei announced. He dropped down into the sinkhole, the light from his headlamp bobbing and casting shadows on the walls. Haru followed, as did Malini. Akira carefully poked his way down the sinkhole, walking down a narrow path.

“There’s light up ahead!” Malini exclaimed. “Lots of it!” She picked up the pace, hurrying down the path until they were at the bottom of the sinkhole in an enormous cavern. The water pooled up in the center of the cavern, and a small river flowed further down the cavern. Up above them there was an enormous opening in the cavern roof. It must be the sinkhole in the canyon floor, Akira realized. But it was definitely not a sinkhole. There were great gouges in the earth, as if an enormous animal dug its way out of the cavern.

“A spring.” Alexei whispered. “No one has ever recorded a spring being in the Lion Carving cave. This is revolutionary!”

“What was in here? What made that hole up there? A ship?” Haru murmured. Akira wondered the same thing.

“I have no idea.” Akira confessed. He couldn’t think of anything big enough to cause the damage they saw here.

“Oh shit.” Malini whispered. “Shit, shit, shit!” When Akira turned to her, Malini held up a pocket composition book for him to look at. They all crowded around to look at the notebook. It was plain red cardboard and lined paper. The pages were covered in messy handwriting, handwriting that was even harder to read because Malini’s hands were shaking.

“This is Keith’s.” Malini whispered. “He was in here, he lost it- he might have been here when whatever made that hole happened.”

“We didn’t see any evidence of a body, Malini.” Alexei tried to cheer her up. “Your friend and his friends, they survived the cave in.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” Malini said. “I don’t think we’re dealing with some sort of earthquake. It’s something else.” She looked pointedly at her coworkers before looking to Akira.

“I- I think I know what Keith and the others might have gotten into, but it’s- it’s going to sound crazy.” Malini confessed. “It’s Garrison business, we’re not allowed to say anything.”

“But you want to.” Akira pointed out.

“I want to find my friend. I want to know what happened to my friends.” Malini said. “And if you can help me figure that out, I’m willing to share whatever I need.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put up this chapter a little later than I wanted, but I hope it's okay! Thank you for reading!


	19. Maria

Maria sorted through Lance’s Garrison files with the family. They sat at the scratched up wooden table where all the kids did their schoolwork and they ate their meals, and they looked at every teacher note, every class schedule, every behavior problem and every disciplinary action. They didn't just look over Lance’s file, but the files of Pidge Gunderson (Or Katie Holt), Hunk Garrett, and then Keith Park. They were supposed to look for any connecting theme, any odd behavior, anything that could point to why their children went missing. There was a light, they chased after it, and then what? What happened next? If scanning over these files with fresh eyes brought anything new, then they would find it.

“Mama, why was Pidge taking trig? I’m not even taking trig and I’m like a year older than this shrimp!” Diego complained, and Maria clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth, a small scolding noise that was as familiar to her children as chicken and rice for dinner.

“Katie is very good at mathematics, Diego. And she is two years older than you, she is just small.” Maria reminded him. “Now, what had everyone found in their files?” Jorge sat across from her at the table, and he raised his hand as if they were in a formal meeting or children back at school. She smiled as Jorge pushed his reading glasses back up his nose and shuffled through Lance’s file. She had gone through their son’s papers several times, and was desperate for a new approach to the papers. Jorge could offer that fresh pair of eyes.

“Lance was tutoring other students in Spanish. His residential advisor last year was very proud of his friendly and helpful manner.” Jorge said. Maria’s husband then lifted one great, dark eyebrow and shook his head as he read Lance’s rather enormous file. All of Lance’s teachers had something to say about their son, though not all of it was positive.

“But Spanish? He could have used the opportunity to learn something new.” Jorge sighed. Maria felt the same way. Lance was speaking fluent Spanish before he was out of diapers, why would he waste time taking a subject he already knew? Maria would have thought Lance would have taken another language just for fun at least!

“Eh, he was probably giving himself a safety net, Papa.” Estella replied. “So he could focus on other subjects. It’s a good idea, giving yourself something you don’t need to stress over!”

“He has decent scores for solo flight simulations, but the team exercises…” Jorge sighed again. “This Professor Montgomery wrote ‘A daring pilot, but needs to listen to crew feedback.’ That is one of the kinder criticisms.” Maria remembered the praise and criticism. Lance Martinez is always willing to help others. Lance Martinez is very bright when he focuses on the subject at hand. Lance Martinez is too reckless. Lance Martinez doesn’t look before he leaps. Lance Martinez needs to analyze the situation before acting.

“Lance just does what Lance does.” Diego retorted, forever defending his older brother. “And Pidge- Katie, sorry Mama- well she had even more teachers saying things about her! She has all these writeups for back talk! Abuelita would smack me with a sandal if I ever talked back like Katie did to her teachers!”

“Abuelita would not smack you with a sandal.” Maria said automatically, but she looked over Katie’s file and wondered just how much trouble Katie had gotten herself into before she disappeared.

“Hunk was a great listener.” Estella said smugly, fanning her papers out for the family to observe. “Smart and a good guy, just a little shy. Though he got clean up duty for sneaking into the mess hall to make a snack once.”

“What about your cadet, Mama?” Diego asked. Maria pulled out a stack of papers from Keith Park’s files that made Lance’s look positively minuscule. All of the papers were disciplinary reports. There was a period of time with no reports that stretched from about a year before the Kerberos shuttle launch and ended right after the announcement of its wreck. Then the reports started again, and they increased in frequency and severity until Keith was finally kicked out for attempted assault on an instructor.

“Wow. And Lance made friends with this guy?” Diego asked, staring at the stack of reports with a little awe. Maria gave her youngest a stern look.

“Keith has had a hard life, and Lance was very kind to reach out and be his friend.” Maria said. “And don't you dare find inspiration in these! I don't want to hear about you-” Maria read the offense of one of the random reports in Keith’s file.

“Climbing onto the school roof after curfew?” Maria quoted. What on Earth? Estella laughed.

“Okay, he sounds way too cool to be Lance’s friend.” Estella peered over her mother’s shoulder and whistled when she caught a glimpse of Keith’s cadet identification picture. “Oh, now I get it.”

“Get what?” Jorge asked. “You know Lance makes friends wherever he goes, Estella.”

“Papa, Keith is a pretty boy!” Estella said smugly. “Lance probably had the biggest crush! No wonder he wouldn't shut up about the ketchup and the pizza thing! He must have been obsessed!”

“Or he was mad because Keith’s the best pilot in the school and Lance wanted to show him up.” Diego said stubbornly. When he furrowed his eyebrows and wrinkled his nose in disgust, he looked just like Lance. Maria reached over the table and ruffled his hair, and Diego ducked away and tried to re-arrange his ‘cool’ hairstyle.

Privately, Maria agreed with Estella’s theory. With his vulnerable looking eyes the shade of evening storm clouds and cloud of black hair, Keith was a pretty boy who looked like he needed rescuing. Or, at the very least, a very good hug. Maria knew her son. Lance wouldn’t be able to help reaching out and trying to make friends with a lonely soul. But Maria also knew that her son was competitive. He wouldn’t have been able to rest until he was the best.

“So what do we have in common here?” Maria asked, bringing everyone back to the topic at hand. “What do all these reports share?”

“Discipline issues. Hunk had one minor infraction, and Lance had a few more.” Jorge suggested. “It is your friend’s daughter, Pidge, who got written up for backtalk, and Keith-”

“Keith, who got written up for everything in the book.” Maria finished. “He was doing so well in school, but then everything drops as the disciplinary reports pick up again.” It hurt to read the reports. Keith was floundering after Kerberos, and he just couldn't recover from it. It made Maria want to do something, to have been there and helped somehow. But that would have been strange, to have a friend’s mother suddenly call a complete stranger and start to mother him. Would Keith have resented it? Felt awkward? Accepted the sympathy, or reject it? A write up told her so little. A school file couldn’t record a personality, a life.

Lance’s report told them of his classes, of his grades, of his professor’s criticism and praise. But it didn’t mention how he ran through the streets barefoot, how he would sit on the edge of the pier with the old fishermen and watch for sharks and dolphins. A school report didn’t tell them how Lance loved to play baseball, how he would hang around outside of sports bars to watch games on the television. The reports didn’t talk about how Lance fed stray cats and nursed sick ones back to health. No report mentioned that Lance spent an entire summer working as a caddy for the Varadero resort golf course to make enough money to buy a new telescope for himself. The reports never talked about Lance’s friendliness and warmth, only his piloting and simulation scores.

“Maybe someone was trying to get rid of Keith?” Estella suggested, breaking Maria out of her thoughts again. “They just started throwing reports at him until he cracked and they could kick him out? Makes sense.” She shrugged her narrow shoulders and started to flip through more of Hunk’s file.

“No, no. Keith was the top pilot candidate at the Garrison. That was why he was being mentored by Akira’s grandson.” Maria explained to her daughter.

“Mooooom!” Diego whined. “Don't just say Akira Shirogane’s name like that!”

“Like what?”

“Like it’s a normal name! You’re acting like he’s one of the neighbors or a guy at church! He broke all the airspeed records! Records that haven't been beaten! He flew to Mars, mom! Mars!” Diego flung his skinny arms into the air in agitation. “Akira Shirogane is a legend!”

“He is also a very nice man who hangs up his wedding pictures in his dining room and listens to ballet music.” Maria replied. “Akira isn't a saint, Diego. He’s a very normal person.”

“He’s superhuman.” Diego muttered. “I can't believe you didn't get his autograph!”

“Enough, Diego.” Jorge sternly told his son. “Back to similarities. They are all around the same age. Keith and Pidge had a vested interest in looking for information on the Kerberos mission. And you know Lance wouldn't let a good mystery sit around untouched.” They all knew that Lance was more curious than a cat. He could never let secrets be secrets.

“Yeah, and he probably dragged Hunk into looking into things just because he could. Maybe they all used the roof as a meeting spot.” Estella suggested.

“That report was just Keith, and it was from before the Kerberos shuttle was launched. Katie never met Keith, he was expelled before she arrived at the Garrison.” Maria said. “Though Katie, Lance, and Hunk did meet each other on the roof the night they disappeared.”

“The night of the weather balloon crash.” Jorge added. The room fell silent. Maria had described the video, the few snatches of conversation the cameras caught before that bright light swept across the sky and the cadets ran towards the possible danger. They ignored the warning signal and just ran. It was just like Lance to do that, to run towards the mystery and not away from the danger.

“It wasn't a weather balloon, was it, Mom?” Diego asked quietly, breaking the silence.

“No, darling, none of us think it was.” Maria replied. “Keith’s older classmate, Malini, she told Akira that they’ve been looking at a ship.” 

Maria then told them the contents of Akira’s latest email to all of them, where he recounted the hike down to a cavern full of ancient carvings, the gaping hole in the earth that looked like something tore its way out, not in, Malini finding Keith’s diary- and then Malini divulging some of her work to Akira because “someone needs to know.” 

“Malini couldn't say much, but she told Akira that she believed the missing cadets and the ship she and her coworkers are investigating are connected. She just doesn't know how yet.” Maria continued. “She promised to look further into it.”

“Like, is she looking at a plane wreck? Like, a spy plane?” Estella pressed. “Is she allowed to talk about that?”

“I don't think so, but Akira said she refused to say more than that. That there was a craft they were looking at at her work, and she suspects it was what the kids found.”

“Is it aliens?” Diego asked, bouncing in his seat. “Did Lance get abducted by aliens?”

“There is a reasonable explanation here.” Jorge said firmly. “We have clues, there is something we’re missing.”

“When we find that missing clue, we find Lance.” Maria agreed. “Him and the others.” Maria reached out and wrapped one arm around Estella, and the other around Diego. Jorge reached and wrapped his arms around them as well. Diego joined into the huddle and, after a heavy sigh and rolling her eyes heavenward, Estella joined in as well.

“We have to have faith.” Maria said. “We must believe that Lance will find his way back to us. But we must also work very, very hard and help him and his friends in any way we can. I believe that together we can find Lance, and all his friends. We can bring him back home.” The held the embrace over the kitchen table. The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the open windows, and the breeze held the smell of the ocean, crisp salt in the air.

“Okay, enough mushy stuff.” Diego declared, ducking under the arms of his mother and father and reaching over the table to dig through more of the papers in front of him. “I’m gonna read more about Pidge being sassy and roasting her teachers.” Maria laughed and ruffled his hair.

“Of course. Akira emailed us to arrange for an interview with one of these American late night talk shows. I think Katie’s mother offered her home for the interview. She said it’s big enough to hold a couple of guests.” Maria explained. “She said she didn’t want any of us to feel like we were traveling alone this time.” Everything was falling into place. If the Galaxy Garrison didn’t offer up an explanation and soon, the hammer would drop and the world would know about the missing cadets. The world would know that no one messed with Maria Martinez Vega.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter (I may have just gotten a new video game I desperately wanted to play and everything got a bit delayed). Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story. I really appreciate it!


	20. Malini

“I give up.” Haru announced, collapsing on the floor and leaning against the metal control panel. “Every time I think I’ve hacked the system, a new security wall pops up and it's more devious than the last!”

They had spent a better part of today inside the alien ship. The better part of their days were spent inside the ship and unlocking its secrets. Everyone on site had walked through the ship’s halls, sat around in the main cabin, fussed over the systems, and tried to learn where the damned ship came from and who made it. All of these questions were proving to be incredibly difficult to find answers to, even with nearly thirty some people swarming the ship around the clock.

“It’s a tricky devil.” Alexei agreed, his voice low and pleasant. “But you will get around it.” He was bent over the small card table, scribbling out different glyphs on a notepad and occasionally flipping through a reference photo of all the glyphs and symbols on the ship. They had carted the table in so they could eat meals and work late over the strange and miraculous project that had somehow fallen into their hands. But the problem with miracle projects was that the higher ups expected miracle results at miracle speeds, and Malini could feel her already strained mental state crumbling around the edges, even as she buried herself in translating each button on the control panel. It will be worth it, she told herself, if this was the reason Keith and the others disappeared, if this has something to do with Kerberos it will all be worth it. Find the ties, dig deep into what this ship was and why it wrecked so close to the Garrison, and move on from there.

“Stop being so agreeable.” Haru grumbled. “I want to be angry right now.” Haru glared up at the metal ceiling, his expression frustrated. He took a deep breath, then another, over and over for nearly a minute. He looked a little like an angry mushroom, Malini thought, what with the white disposable surgical cap on his head and the thunderous expression on his face.

“What I don't understand is how different the code becomes.” Haru finally said when he had calmed himself. “We have the code right in front of us, it makes perfect sense and I’m just about to break through another wall, and then it-”

“Scrambles. Changes into another code. I know, Haru. We’ve all experienced it.” Malini said. Everyone on site had at least one story of them approaching a near breakthrough when something broke the system and they were back to square one. The entire Chaco team was experiencing an extreme version of Murphy’s Law: Everything that could go wrong went wrong, and every step forward was accompanied by two steps back. If she wasn’t already losing her mind with worry over Keith Malini knew she would be losing her mind over their frustrating lack of progress.

“It’s as if someone else is writing code as I’m deciphering it.” Haru complained. “And we’re working with only half of the symbols used in this damned control system and-” Haru buried his head in his hands and groaned loudly. Alexei stood up and crossed the control room in three strides until he stood next to Haru. He knelt down and patted his back.

“Malini and I will figure out the rest.” Alexei promised. “You have made more progress than anyone else. We know where the ship was launched from-”

“From a system outside our charted galaxy.” Malini added helpfully, sitting down on the floor in front of Haru. “Because of you we’ve made more discoveries in a day than most people make in a lifetime.”

“It isn’t enough.” Haru replied. “We have alien technology in our hands, our understanding of the world has been completely rewritten, and yet it keeps fighting me at every turn!”

“It’s fighting all of us.” Malini agreed. “Damn stupid ship.” The ship was both a miracle and a curse. It held all the secrets of the universe, and they could learn so much from it. But the ship would probably kill them all out of the pure stress its existence caused them.

“They didn’t even find a pilot in here.” Alexei said. “Even a hostile alien would be helpful to us at this point.”

“The coordinates were set, so I guess this ship didn’t need a pilot.” Malini said. “Though I can’t understand why anyone would send an empty ship out to our world.”

“At least we’ve been cleared and don’t have to wear hazmat suits. Then it would be frustrating and uncomfortable work.” Haru mumbled. He tore the face mask from his mouth and nose. “I need a drink.”

“We all need a drink.” Alexei said mournfully. “And a day off.” The cap on his head and his beard made him look like a younger version of Santa Claus clad in white coveralls, but none of them were feeling particularly jolly.

“Can’t do anything about a rest day, but we can take a dinner break. We ate lunch in here, they owe us at least a few hours off.” Malini suggested. “And we have drinks in the camper. Beer, soda, water, tea-”

“That does it, we take a break. Now.” Alexei announced, dragging himself off the ground and offering a hand to Haru. Haru took it and hoisted himself up. Malini scrambled to her feet.

“I don’t want to be in the camper.” Haru said. “Can we take some drinks, some food, and just- just go?” Malini realized then that Haru was exhausted, with heavy dark circles under his dark eyes. His normally combed back hair was messy. Haru was a perfectionist, and these constant setbacks were taking an enormous toll on him. As big a toll as it was taking on her, Malini realized. Even cheerful Alexei looked strained. Taking a break outside of the alien ship was a good idea, but if they went to their camper they’d just be surrounded by more work- half scribbled out translations and computers running simulations on every clear surface, sketches of the ship and star charts pinned to the cabinets and walls. Then there was all of the junk that Malini brought in concerning Keith and the missing cadets, and that was just a downer to look at. Taking a break in the camper wasn’t going to be a break. Not really.

“We can drive out, go stargazing. It’s a nice night for it. Chaco Canyon’s supposed to be great for stargazing.” Malini suggested, and when there was no protest that’s what they did. They stripped out of white coveralls and disposed of their latex gloves and white caps, then hiked over to their camper and packed a cooler full of snacks and drinks, anything they could grab their hands on. Alexei ran to Professor Montgomery’s camper and let him know that Team H.A.M. (his nickname for their group of Haru, Alexei, and Malini) was taking their break and to send in another team. Haru started up the SUV and when Alexei returned and buckled in, Haru just drove off into the desert.

It was a quiet drive. Haru eventually turned on some music, and they sat together and listened as they watched the dark desert zip by. They didn't talk to each other, only listened to the music. The clear notes of piano chords and the singer’s pleading voice echoed through the car as Haru turned down a dirt path and drove up a small hill. It was a clear patch of land, the earth clawing up into the night sky, a sky scattered with thousands upon thousands of stars. Haru stopped the car and they all scrambled out, Alexei pulling out the cooler, Haru picking up a telescope from the trunk, Malini pulling out blankets to combat the chill of the New Mexico night air. They all settled on the hood of the SUV with the cooler set on the roof.

“So, gentlemen, what will it be?” Malini finally asked, the first words uttered since they hopped in the car.

“Bartender, give me your strongest beer.” Haru replied, and Malini crawled her way up to the top of the SUV and dug through the cooler, squinting to read the label on the beer bottles. She couldn't make out any of the words in the pale moonlight. Was this an amber ale, or a brown ale? An IPA or something else? Malini shrugged and grabbed two beers at random. Whatever it was they’d just have to drink it.

“I will drive back.” Alexei offered. “Is there a soda?”

“Yeah.” Malini pulled out a can and scrambled back down to the hood of the SUV so she could sit down next to Haru. She held the soda can out to Alexei, who took it and started to drink. She held out a bottle to Haru, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife and popped the bottle cap off. He did the same for Malini’s, then took a long swig of his beer.

“Lots of stars out tonight.” Alexei commented. “Hard to see constellations.”

“Not so hard.” Haru replied before lifting his hand and tracing out a shape in the sky with a pale finger. “There’s Aquila, the eagle, and soaring above him is Cygnus the swan.” Haru made two crosses in the air, one slightly under and to the right of the other. Malini smiled and kept silent as Alexei paid close attention to Haru’s explanations and Haru eagerly discussed star maps and constellations. How long would these two dance around each other before they finally admitted their attraction? The two clearly admired each other for their intelligence and drive, and Malini would freely admit that she liked how Alexei’s sunny nature softened Haru’s sardonic politeness. Maybe if she gave them a little push-

Do not get involved, Malini told herself as she took a swig of the beer in her hand and let the bitter liquid sit heavy in her tongue and burn down her throat. Don’t get so attached, they’ll leave or something will go wrong and you’ll be all alone again. Don’t make a new space family, Malini thought. Don’t you dare spit on Matt and Shiro’s memories like that! It was that angry, mourning, bitter part of herself that couldn’t be silenced that shrieked at her. Don’t you dare forget Matt and Shiro, don’t you dare abandon Keith just because you’re a little lonely. Don't you dare!

“Ah!” Alexei exclaimed. “Shooting star!” Malini turned her head up to the sky and watched a light streak through the sky. Another followed shortly, and then another. They held their breath as a group as lights streaked through the clear night sky.

“Meteor shower.” Haru murmured. “We picked a good night to go out.”

“We needed it.” Malini said softly. This wasn’t abandonment, Malini told the bitterness inside her. This was friendship and support. This was healing. Matt and Shiro were not small, petty people. They wouldn’t have wanted their friend to mourn forever. And Keith- she would never abandon Keith. Having friends, enjoying herself, being a person instead of a shell of herself, that wasn’t abandonment. It was helping her heal.

“It’s so- big.” Alexei said a bit lamely, gesturing up to the sky as he leaned back against the windshield. “It sounds silly to say, but space is large. And to think that out there are the beings who made that ship.” Alexei let his hand fall to his chest and fell silent.

“They’re out there with such advanced technology, and they must know so much. What else could they had discovered? Do they know the secrets of the universe?” Haru asked out loud.

“But, after all, who knows, and who can say/ Whence it all came, and how creation happened?/ the Devas themselves are later than creation/ so who knows truly from whence it has arisen?” Malini recited quietly. Her nose only smelled desert dust and beer, but her mind remembered the smell of incense and fresh fruit at the family shrine in the dining room. She remembered the coolness of the room, how big the household shrine seemed when she was young, she remembered her chubby hand reaching out to leave coconut candies next to the statue of Ganesh, Asha standing next to her with her own offerings of candies and flowers. She remembered it so clearly, her grandmother lecturing her and Asha as children on the proper way to perform puja, and how everything that Malini learned as a child stayed.

“I didn’t realize you were religious.” Alexei said.

“I’m not, not really. My grandmother is, so we all do puja to keep her happy.” But there was also beauty and dignity in ritual, a thread connecting her to family, to culture, to everything that she came from and was. There was a lot about who she was and where she came from that she had ignored in favor of her work, Malini thought. Friends, family, her culture, herself. How much had her grief taken from her?

“I should pray more.” Malini concluded weakly. No more, she told herself. Grief will not take anything else from me.

“As should I.” Haru muttered, and he took another gulp of his beer. “But I may be having an existential crisis, please ignore me.”

They spent nearly two hours out under the stars, Haru pointing to stars and hopping off and on the hood of the SUV to look at nebulas and planets. He looked tired, but there was a bounce to his step every time he urged his companions to look through the telescope and see the stars. Alexei made sure Haru and Malini ate food as they drank, and he kept to soda, water, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Malini stared up at the sky and wondered where the alien ship could have come from, who could have made it, and how it could have connected to the disappearance of four cadets over the period of a few brief months. It couldn’t be a coincidence, or could it? 

He, who surveys it all from the highest heaven, Malini thought, he knows- or maybe even he does not know.

Alexei drove them back to camp. Haru sat shotgun, and Malini sat in the back and stared out the window at the dark landscape and the millions of stars in the sky. The music tinkled softly over the speakers, more piano and a man’s mournful voice singing about love and loss and finding the strength to keep pushing forward. Malini felt more than a little tipsy, and the sky blurred and shifted as she looked out the window. When they returned to camp they stumbled out of the SUV and put everything back in the camper, but Malini felt too restless to sleep. Haru seemed to feel the same, as he kept pacing back and forth in the tiny kitchen.

“I have an idea about the code.” Haru declared. “We should go to the ship and try it.” 

“Maybe not right now.” Alexei said. “Maybe not when you’re drunk.”

“I’m sober enough to code. We should go to the ship.” Haru said stubbornly. Malini didn’t know why Alexei was so hesitant. If Haru had a new idea, they might as well try it. None of them had made any major progress, so why not? She couldn’t sleep anyhow, so why not? Why not sit around in the ship again and try something new? Why not?

“I agree.” Malini said. “It beats doing nothing, and if we go to bed Haru might forget what he wanted to do when he wakes up.”

“Exactly!” Haru exclaimed, and he bounced out of the camper. Alexei followed, but he turned around to give Malini a skeptical look.

“We shouldn’t encourage him.” Alexei whispered. “What if he hurts himself?”

“He’ll be fine. We’ll be with him.” Malini replied. They made their way to the big white tent and suited up. Malini tucked her long hair into the disposable cap, taking extra time to make sure that every strand was in the cap. Alexei was behind her, quietly putting a cap on over his beard. Haru was pacing again- Malini had never seen Haru drunk before. Who would have thought he got energetic when drunk? They entered the main tent area and, after waiting for the team inside to file out for their break, they stepped up the ramp and entered the alien ship. Haru immediately went to the main console and sat in front of it, a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. He diligently copied every symbol on the panel. Alexei sat at the card table, comparing the symbols they were trying to interpret with the few they knew. Malini stared at the symbols and wondered why some of them looked so familiar, as if she had seen them before.

Had she seen them before?

“Here. Everything we have on the panel.” Haru announced, standing up and making his way to the card table. “Which symbols do we know? Or think we know?”

“Here.” Malini stabbed her finger at the symbol in the center of the notepad. “The symbol that looks like a branching tree, or a “y” with five branches at the top, that controls the hatch door at the back. It’s almost like this shuttle is a transport vehicle, not a fighter. There are weapons of some sort, a laser system that is being dissected, but the size and function of this ship suggests…”

“Suggests that this is no battle ship. Perhaps a medical, or cargo ship?” Alexei suggested. “This letter, the one that looks like a backwards b, is similar to a Nordic rune, the berkano. It’s symbolizes a goddess of fertility and regeneration.”

“The ship is too small for cargo. I’m going to guess it’s a medical ship.” Malini replied. “Maybe the ‘b’ stands for an advanced medical procedure?”

“This is an alien craft, not a Viking ship!” Haru retorted. “Be serious!”

“There is another symbol that looks like the Greek letter omega.” Malini added, pointing to one letter, and then she pointed to the symbol next to it. “And this looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics. You know, the bird with the human head.”

“Ba, the soul leaving the body!” Alexei exclaimed. “And- these symbols!” Alexei hastily sorted through his papers and presented them. They were photographs of the Lion carvings, in particular photos of the symbols in the carvings. The papers Alexei held up were covered in symbols, some of them similar to the symbols in the craft, some of them completely unknown to Malini.

“The Lion Goddess carving has these symbols as well! They are the same letters!” Alexei declared proudly. “Changed by time, streamlined, simplified, but the same!” He pointed to the symbol that vaguely looked like the bird human hybrid, then pointed to another, more elaborate version of the same symbol.

“Change over time.” Malini whispered. “Language changes over time.”

“Human cultures are not products of alien cultures.” Haru said stubbornly. “They are not!”

“I agree.” Alexei replied. “It must be something else. If human cultures were the product of one alien culture we would see far more cultural similarities, but we don’t.”

“A hoax?” Malini suggested.

“No. The carvings are far too old to be a hoax. But it is as if the creators of the Lion Carvings and the builders of this ship incorporated symbols from a thousand human cultures to apply it to their own.” Alexei mused.

“A cultural exchange. But then what did humanity get out of this?” Haru asked.

“A shit ton of mysteries, that’s what.” Malini replied.

“The ship crashed close to those caves.” Haru said. “Very close, all things considered. It was only off by fifty miles or so.” Malini realized, with dawning horror, that Haru was right. The ship’s crash site wasn’t that far away from the caves. The caves that Keith had been in, the one where he dropped his diary, the one with the giant hole in the ceiling as if something clawed its way out of the earth. Keith had gone looking for something in those caves, and some alien from outer space had done the exact same thing.

“Someone plugged in the coordinates to reach that cave.” Alexei concluded. “Someone wanted to get there for some reason. It seems they got their wish.” 

“Why didn't we see this before?” Malini whispered. “How did we miss this?”

“How could we have seen this? We’re looking at a ship pulled away from its crash site. Of course the context was stripped from the wreck!” Haru exclaimed. “What else, Alexei? What else is similar between your carvings and this ship?” 

As Alexei scanned over the symbols and pointed to possible matches, Malini wandered through the main room of the ship, staring out of the darkened windows, looking at the control panels in a new light. They could read these. They could read these symbols and learn everything about this ship. They could learn so much more, and this- was this what Keith was looking for? He was looking for that cave with the lion carvings, he had found it, and then- then what happened? Did the pilot of this ship escape before the Garrison found the ship? Was that why the ship was empty? The missing cadets, had they run into the alien pilot? Did Keith? What happened next?

Malini stared at the control panel for the ship, at the buttons and darkened lights and glass panels that they still couldn’t figure out the function for. Malini inspected the center glass panel, larger than her hand, and noticed the faintest markings on it. It was the mark of the bird with the human head, the ba. Malini hesitated for a moment, then sat in the pilot’s chair. It was much too large for her frame. Her feet barely skimmed the floor as she sat down.

“How do we drive this thing?” Malini asked. She had never asked the question before. She was so overwhelmed by the fact that they had an alien ship right in front of them that she hadn’t even thought to ask that question. But there was no obvious steering wheel, no obvious way to fly this ship- so how did it start? How did it fly?

“We’re not sure- Malini, what are you doing?” Haru asked as Malini peeled off the latex glove on her right hand. The pilot’s chair was too big for her, too big for most people, and so were these panels. All of it was too big- but what if it was exactly the right size for the people who built this craft?

“I’m testing an idea. If something happens pull me out of this damn chair, got it?” Malini ordered, and she pressed her hand against the central panel.

Nothing happened at first. The glass was cold and slick against her palm, and that was all. Then the panel lit up, a soft, blue glow outlining her hand. The outline of an enormous hand on the panel was still visible, much larger than Malini’s. The light pulsated softly, a slow rhythm that seemed to match Malini’s heartbeat.

“Holy shit.” Haru breathed out. “What did you do?”

“I just touched it.” Malini whispered. “I thought that it had to be important, since it's in the center.” Three holographic screens popped up above the ship’s console, flickering blue and covered in symbols they didn’t understand.

“Holograms, much more advanced than what we have.” Haru said with some satisfaction. “And more symbols! Alexei-”

“I’m on it.” Alexei took out his phone and began to snap pictures of the screens, then grabbed a notepad and began to scribble down some more notes. His eyes frantically scanned the holographs, and Malini was quick to point out any new symbol on screen.

“Malini, don’t remove your hand.” Haru ordered. “It might disappear if you do.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning to.” Malini meant to say, but then a shock ran from her hand and through her body and silenced her completely. Ouch, she tried to exclaim, but her mouth didn’t move. She tried to blink, but she couldn’t. Malini tried to fight down the panic. It’s just the shock, it scrambled your nerves for a second or something, Malini sternly told herself. Don’t freak out.

She had tried to pull her hand away, but found that she couldn’t. She couldn’t move her body at all. She couldn’t even wiggle her toes. She could hear Haru and Alexei talking, so consumed with the wealth of information they had found that they didn’t notice that she had become like a statue. Malini tried to remain calm, but panic was rising in her chest. Her heart beat furiously as she tried to calm down and regain control of her body.

That’s when something started poking at her mind.

Poking wasn’t quite the right word. It was more like a careful creeping on the edges of her consciousness, but Malini knew it wasn’t herself slinking around in her head. There were no words spoken, but Malini knew it was something intelligent lurking in her mind. There was something curious and cautious and completely unlike herself rooting around inside her head. It was looking for something, and Malini panicked. Out of my head, get out of my head! Get out, get out, get out get out getoutgetoutoutoutOUT! There was a stab of shock in her mind, as if the thing invading her head was surprised at finding someone home.

“Malini?” Alexei asked, but his voice sounded so far away as Malini tried to expel whatever was inside her head. She was terrified. What was this in her head? Why was it in her head? But in her panic Malini realized that whatever this was inside her head, they were connected with the ship. They were loosely connected with the lion carvings.

They were very, very loosely connected to Keith.

Where is he? Malini sent the thought out into her mind, clinging onto the strange presence in her head. Where is Keith Park? When the presence tried to pull away, tried to escape, expressed confusion, Malini clamped down even harder.

Where is Keith Park? Where is he? Why did you send your ship here? What have you done with him? What have you done with the other cadets? Where are Katie, Lance, and Hunk? Where is Keith?

The presence only seemed puzzled and increasingly alarmed. It tried to push away, and Malini clung on. Where are they? Why are you here in my head? Answer me! And as Malini demanded answers she began to hear, or at least understand, something that might have been a response.

The emotions came first, a panic as strong as Malini’s sweeping through her, and then after the waves of panic came other feelings. Surprise. They hadn’t expected someone on the other side. They hadn’t expected her. The ship wasn’t supposed to be functioning, none of these creatures should be capable of using Galra tech.

Then there was anger. How dare this human order me around, how dare they meddle in what they could not understand. What does this creature know of sacrifice and honor and duty? Ulaz made a mistake, sending the shuttle here. This planet could have never held a Lion of Voltron.

There was some curiosity poking through the anger and arrogance. I have never met an Earthling. Others have seen them, but not me. What is this one like? Surprising, the being on the other end decided, and Malini wondered if this was some twisted sort of compliment.

Then came fear again. They had to clean this up before Zarkon found out. The wipe didn’t work, these humans are still looking at the ship. And who is this one? They are too strong, too frightened, cut the connection before we are caught, cut it cut it CUT IT- and when the light on the panel turned off Malini yanked her hand off the glass and slumped in the pilot’s seat, her mind and body hers again. As darkness crowded her vision, Malini felt herself falling out of the seat as the world turned around and around.

This is going to hurt, Malini thought, and then there was nothing more.

Malini came to on the floor of the ship, with Haru and Alexei looking down at her. Haru’s dark eyes were wide with worry, and Alexei’s face was ashen. Malini blinked again, and the world became clearer. Her head was slightly elevated, as if she was resting on a pillow.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” A patient, familiar voice asked. Professor Montgomery. Malini concentrated on the hand in front of her face, swallowed, and tried to wet her mouth.

“None.” Malini croaked out. “You’ve got your hand in a fist.”

“Good.” Professor Montgomery said. “Now how many fingers?” Malini realized that she couldn’t see Professor Montgomery except for his hand. Her head must be resting on his lap.

“Two.” Malini replied. “Two fingers.”

“Good.” Professor Montgomery said, his normally boisterous voice calm and soft. “Who is the President of the United States?”

“President Karen Hoffman.” Malini responded. “Then President Michael Bloom. Then President Richard Carmichael, and then President Elizabet Gold.” Malini started reciting presidents in backwards order, and when she reached President Carter Professor Montgomery stopped her.

“I think we can safely say that you aren’t suffering from memory loss.” Montgomery said dryly. “Yamada, Kovalenko, help her sit up.”

“You stupid, stupid girl!” Haru hissed, reaching forward and hugging Malini fiercely once she was upright. “Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you tell us?” Malini could feel him shaking against her.

“Couldn't.” Malini said softly. “It got a hold of my body, I couldn't move. I had to fight it off.”

“It?” Alexei murmured.

“Whoever was on the other side of this control system.” Malini explained. “Haru, you were right. About the code. Someone is changing the code as you crack it. Whoever sent off the craft, or one of their buddies. They’ve been wiping everything, trying to keep us from finding out- I don't know. They want this ship destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” Professor Montgomery repeated. “Are you sure, Patel?”

“I don't know. Someone’s looking for it. They- he? I think they were masculine but who knows with aliens?” Malini found that she couldn't stop talking now. “But it was- he was scared. I started asking questions, and he tried to run. But I know how the ship works. Kind of.”

“How?” Montgomery asked.

“The ship reads the pilot’s biology, then connects with them mentally. It’s-” Malini struggled with an explanation. “It was faint, but it/s like the ship itself was alive. A limited intelligence, but it was alive and it let me contact whatever was on the other side. They seemed surprised I could do it.” 

“Who sent the ship?” Haru asked.

“Ulaz.” Malini promptly replied. “At least, that’s what they said. Thought? The guy on the other end, he thought Ulaz made a mistake, sending the shuttle here. That Voltron couldn't be on our planet.”

“Voltron?” Alexei repeated, suddenly excited. “He said Voltron?”

“Technically he said ‘A Lion of Voltron,’ but yes?” Malini didn't know what any of that meant. It was like mystic nonsense from one of Matt’s favorite fantasy games.

“The lion carvings mention Voltron, a warrior god that protects the universe, unites all people-” Alexei explained. His blue eyes were dancing with excitement.

“I don't think it's a god.” Malini interrupted. “It’s some sort of weapon.” Why else would the people who built this ship want Voltron? It had to be a weapon.

“I think we should get you to the First Aid tent.” Professor Montgomery said crisply. “Up we go. Nurse Peters will monitor you, and you are on strict bedrest tomorrow.” Alexei and Haru looped her arms over their shoulders, and they pulled Malini out of the ship and away from the tent.

“I was stupid.” Haru muttered. “You could have been killed, Malini, all because I wanted to work on this stupid ship-”

“I would’ve done it eventually.” Malini replied. “Not your fault, Haru.”

“We gained something out of it. We know more than we did.” Alexei said softy. “Though I’d rather we not do that again.”

“There’s more stuff, stuff I didn’t tell Montgomery.” Malini confessed. “The aliens, they know about humans. Seen them before.”

“How?” Haru asked sharply, but lowered his voice when they passed another group of Garrison engineers. “How?” He asked again.

“Either they’ve come here, or maybe- maybe they’ve seen humans out there.” Malini whispered. “He said- thought- he knew about Earthlings. Others of his kind have seen Earthlings. Met Earthlings.” And there was only one expedition Malini could think of where there were no bodies recovered, no people to bring back home.

“Malini-” Haru warned.

“I don’t think Kerberos crashed, Haru. I think- Shiro and Matt, and Dr. Holt, they might be out there.” Malini said softly. “And I think the aliens who built the shuttle met them. Knew them. And if they were looking for the Lion Carvings, looking for the Voltron lion, I think they might have run into Keith. Maybe the other cadets.” And whatever the truth was, Malini was going to find it. No matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Malini recites two verses from the Nasadiya Sukta, also known as the Hymn of Creation, a hymn of the Rigveda. It concerns cosmology and the creation of the universe, and I thought the way it questions the universe fits what Malini and her friends are going through.
> 
> Chaco Canyon is, in fact, a very popular place to go stargazing. The National Park Service holds special events where people can go to to observe the night sky.
> 
> Also, don't get drunk and mess around in clean rooms. This has been a Public Service Announcement.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and if anyone has any questions or comments, please leave them! I love to hear from readers.
> 
> P.S. Should I add an extra chapter from the point of view of the Galra who were hacking into the ship? Is anyone interested in reading that? Let me know!


	21. Firez

“That was foolish, Firez.” Kolivan said gravely. His craggy features were as set as a slab of fire hardened steel. He stood at the doorway of Firez’s bunk. Firez was sprawled out on the cot, being fussed over by one of the few doctors still remaining at the main base. Jezra was old, older than many of the Blades, older than Kolivan, and she rarely ventured out of the medical bay. But she came to his bunk to treat his injuries.

His actions were far more grievous than he first thought.

“Yes, Kolivan.” Firez agreed, his voice still hoarse. What could he do but agree? His curiosity had nearly destroyed him. He had only wanted to explore the very edges of the Earthling’s consciousness. He wanted to know if he could, and he was thrilled when he realized that he had developed the skill. But Firez dove in too quickly, he went in too deep, and the Earthling sensed him. The Earthling caught hold of his mind and held on, and she demanded answers from him. They were answers he could not provide. He had hardly understood the questions.

“You endangered the entire mission.” Kolivan stated.

“Yes, Kolivan.”

“The creature on the other side of the connection knows of our existence now, Firez. Zarkon and the Empire will discover this mistake in time.” Kolivan’s brow wrinkled, the red markings following the arch of his brow and making him seem even more fierce. “We do not leave loose ends, and now we have one.”

“She, Kolivan.” Firez said softly. “The Earthling was female.”

“I do not particularly care what gender the Earthling was. What I care about is that they could use the empath board.” Kolivan replied, and irritation colored his voice. He is angry, Firez thought with no small amount of wonder. Kolivan is angry. Kolivan never lost his temper. His self-control was legendary among the Blades.

“They have compatible blood. Galra blood.” Jezra finally muttered, squirting the last bit of burn ointment onto Firez’s hands. “Galra ships are calibrated to our genetic code. No other species could communicate with a Galra ship, or through it to others. It is a unique talent of our species.” Her voice was rough as she lectured Firez, as if he were once again a cub on his mother’s knee learning of his bloodline, his heritage. It was not, however, unkind.

Jezra was, in many ways, the matriarch of the Blades. She was too old to travel to Imperial planets, too old to escape should she be discovered, but her knowledge was invaluable. She was needed here at the Blade base, to save whatever lives they could as they hid in furthest reaches of the Galra Empire. But she had to remain hidden. Her knowledge was a secret weapon, a hidden blade to strike her enemies.

Jezra is trapped here, Firez thought, and so am I. What would happen to him now? Would Kolivan believe that his actions were too risky for a Blade agent? Would Firez now be forced to remain behind in the Blade headquarters, forever doomed to play support when others put the universe to rights? No. No!

“The connection was weak, Kolivan.” Firez insisted. “The blood cannot be more than a drop.”

“It is a drop too many. If we could communicate with the Earthling, Zarkon surely can. And he has that witch Haggar and her druids obeying his whims.” Kolivan sighed and rested his head in one large, clawed hand. “It was foolish of you, Firez. If there was any other Blade who could use the empath board you would be reassigned.”

“Yet?” Firez croaked.

“Yet we have no one else.” Jezra said, her voice brisk and no-nonsense. “You have a heightened empathy, and are better trained in this skill than the other Blades. There is a task for you, as there is a task for every Blade.”

“So I am not being removed from my position?” Firez breathed out, hope battering at his hearts. He was not being replaced. He was not being assigned to another unit. He could remain, monitoring the ship at the far edges of the known universe, observing a species outside of Zarkon’s greedy grasp. He would watch for Voltron, and he would keep the Galra Empire from discovering Ulaz’s bizarre, mysterious plan. But the most important thing was that Firez would not be replaced!

“No. Unfortunately.” Kolivan scowled. “Do not look so smug, Firez. The empath board is to be used to monitor the emergency shuttle Ulaz foolishly sent out. It is not meant for communication between living creatures.”

“But I have managed it.” Firez said with no small amount of pride. He had mastery over technology so old it blurred the line between science and magic. The long distance use of an empath board to override a ship’s interface was already an impressive feat, but to then use the board to connect to another thinking being- he had done what was thought to be legend! No one had used the empath board from such a far distance before!

“Arrogance will be your undoing, Firez. It is not safe.” Kolivan said firmly.

“It is safe enough. I had control.” Firez insisted. He had control until the Earthling surprised him. He would not be so easily taken again.

“Hardly.” The doctor clucked her tongue, and she pointed at Firez’s hands, at the skin that was tight and hot to the touch. “Boy, those burns didn’t come from control.” Jezra raised her thin eyebrow at him, and Firez tried to close his hands. The burns hurt too much. He couldn’t close them, though he tried.

“I was surprised.” Firez said defensively. “That is all.” He had been too confident in his abilities, and he underestimated the Earthling. He would not do it a second time.

“It should not have happened. It will not happen again.” Kolivan said decisively. “What would your Uncle say, if you were put in danger due to your foolishness?”

“To not take an unnecessary risk.” Firez recited. “To put the mission above all else.” He had not heard from his uncle in several movements. Thace’s position as a high ranking officer on a Galra ship did not afford him much privacy. Firez rarely heard from his mother’s older brother. But despite the distance of time and space. Firez could hear Thace’s calm, dignified voice in his head. It was foolish to push so deeply into another mind, Firez. You must exercise caution. You have the talents of your father, but are as impulsive as your mother. Be more cautious, or your gifts will consume you.

Thace always erred on the side of caution.

“Think on that, and heal.” Kolivan ordered. “You will return to your position in two quintants.” Kolivan left the room, and Firez breathed a sigh of relief. He was still a Blade, still assigned to his post. He had not lost this part of his identity. He would remain a Blade. He could fight against Zarkon and the Galra Empire.

He could seek vengeance.

“Young Firez, the Galra have always felt deeply. Our race is an emotional one.” Jezra said gently. “It is why we must control ourselves. We cannot afford to be ruled by our emotions, lest we destroy everything we touch. Do not forget, Firez, that the steadiest mind-”

“Is a calm mind.” Firez finished the phrase so beloved of Galra elders. “I will remember, Jezra.”

“See that you do.” Jezra pressed her hand on Firez’s forehead, as a mother would to her cub. “I attended your birth, boy. I do not wish to witness you leave this life as well.” Jezra hobbled out of his small bunk, and Firez turned to his side to watch the door.

His room was small, for no room could be wasted in the base. Kolivan judged it best that all Blades have private bunks for meditation, personal space, and general improvement of morale. Firez appreciated his privacy now more than ever. He needed the quiet after the shock his mind went through.

It was not wholly unexpected. All the records he read on the empath board stressed the dangers of using the device without proper training. The training was arduous- years of meditation and control were drilled into a potential pilot, years of dedication were given to learning to control body and mind, all in the hopes that a pilot could interface with the empath board and the ship the board was connected to. It was no wonder Zarkon opted for ship designs that could be piloted by robot drones. The resources it took to train one Galra pilot were astronomical. A thousand candidates could go through the training program, and only a handful would be capable of using an empath board and connecting with their ship.

Pilots were meant to share their soul with that which was mechanical, Firez reminded himself. They were not meant to connect with that which was organic. Using an empath board to connect with a person was actively discouraged. Even if the connection was consensual, it was not a good idea. The mental strain of using an empath board was already great. Pushing into another being’s soul only added to that strain. There were other problems that cropped up when using the empath board to touch souls, ones that Firez could not bear to contemplate. They were far too frightening to consider. Firez should have never attempted to reach out to another being. He could have lost himself completely.

He very nearly had.

The human was so- so interesting! Female, Firez knew, and with a life and biology and mind completely unlike his own. He had grown curious when she touched the board on the shuttle, and bold when he realized she had no idea of what she was doing. So he let his mind push forward into hers, skirting on the edges because he was curious. Had he been in complete control of himself when Kolivan scolded him earlier, Firez would have made an excuse for his actions. The humans have the shuttle, he would have said, and it would be prudent to spy on them. But Firez had not come up with such a lie. He had been dazed and hurting, and he let Kolivan tell him the truth of the matter. Firez was overconfident and too curious for his own good.

But he wanted to know what it was like, to live out of the shadow of the Galra Empire. He wanted to know what life was like outside of the Blade headquarters. He wanted to know what life was when you weren't hiding. Firez just wanted to know, so he dove right in.

The Earthling was so driven, so focused on the task she was given, that Firez was able to sneak into the edges of her consciousness without trouble. He felt that focus control him for a moment, but he pushed away and started to sort through what he could feel. Stress, he realized, and great sorrow. There was frustration and anger, and sometimes a face would swim into view. They were all different faces, morphing and changing as the Earthling had a thought. There were memories, and though Firez had burned with curiosity he let the memories lie undisturbed. He would lose himself in them if he touched on that part of the mind.

He had slunk forward, and then he was caught. He had struggled, fought back against the clumsy fumbling of her mind, but she was strong. Strong enough to surprise and control him, Firez could reluctantly admit. Then she started asking questions, her emotions so strong that they overwhelmed him. Where are they? Faces flashed through his eyes, too fast for him to register them, but it was the forcefulness of the question that stuck with Firez. Where are they?

“I wouldn’t know.” Firez muttered, glaring up at the ceiling of his bunk and the weak light hanging above him. “I’ve never met a human.” He had never gone out beyond the star system of the main base. He rarely met outsiders, save for the rare merchant or junker sailing through the stars. But Firez had heard tales of Earthlings. The new Galra Champion was rumored to be an Earthling, a ferocious warrior who took out the last Champion. Firez wished that he could have seen it, even though he detested the pomp and ceremony of the Empire. He hated it as much as any Blade. But Firez wanted to experience. He wanted to know.

Uncle Thace told him there was no glory to be had in battle, that the Earthling had gone battle mad before he was dragged out by Druids. Uncle Thace did not say more, for all the Blades knew what had happened next. The Champion had become the freakish science experiment of the Druids and their leader, another weapon Zarkon would employ to cement his universal control and hunt down Voltron. They could do nothing, but Ulaz thought otherwise. He risked everything to break the Earthling out of his prison, forced him into a shuttle, and punched in the coordinates to the Blue Lion (the one piece of Voltron Ulaz had been assigned to track down). Ulaz narrowly escaped the clutches of Galra forces and was now hiding out in a bunker, keeping his head low and not communicating with the Blades. Kolivan thought it was nonsense, but he had Firez track down the shuttle and the Earthling Champion. The Champion was already gone by the time Firez tracked the ship down, but he continued to monitor the ship on Kolivan’s orders. So Firez spied on the Earthlings and the ship, and he waited for something to change.

Well, something had changed. Firez didn’t know if he’d be able to return to just monitoring a ship and writing more code to lock the ship’s functions away from the Earthlings. Firez knew he would return to the empath board and he would push himself too far. He would jump into the Earthling’s mind because it was so refreshing to know of a life that hadn’t been lived under the Galra Empire.

“Kolivan said you would be sulking.” A low voice rumbled when his door slid open. Firez propped himself up on his elbows as another Blade member entered the room, sweeping his tail into the room before the door shut on it.

“Antok.” Firez sighed. “Did Kolivan tell you what happened?”

“He said you were a foolish child.” Antok shrugged. “As I believe that to be an insufficient explanation, I decided to speak with you. Are you a foolish child, Firez?”

“No. I am not a child.” Firez replied. “Though I feel more than a little foolish.”

“Explain.” Antok did not remove his mask when he spoke. All the younger Blades had their theories as to why Antok even wore a mask, ranging from disfigurement at the hands of Galra drones to Antok enjoying the sense of mystery it evoked, but there were no answers. 

“I used the empath board to connect with an Earthling. As it is a two way connection, I believe- I know- that she was connected to me as well.” He admitted everything, let the whole incident spill out of his mouth. He felt his skin flush as he detailed his fear, the Earthling’s fear, all of it rolled into one. He had not acted like a Blade but a coward, Firez thought. He was lucky his mind was still intact. Antok listened to it all without saying a word or passing judgement until Firez was done.

“It was foolish.” Antok declared calmly after Firez finished his tale. “What made you believe it was a wise course of action?”

“It was not what I believed.” Firez explained. “It was my cursed curiosity. I could not help myself. I had to know, and then-”

“Just like your mother.” Antok shook his head. “Too curious.”

“You knew her, Antok. No one speaks of my parents, not even Thace.”

“Erza and Terik were brave agents of the Blade of Marmora. They stood strong against the Galra Empire.” Antok said firmly. “And that is all you need to know, Firez.”

“Antok-”

“Someday you will know of your parentage, but not now. Not when you are so… unsettled.” Antok declared. Firez lay back down in his cot and glared at the ceiling light.

“I will rest now. Do not disturb me.” Firez said. Antok left the room, and when the doors shut behind him Firez rolled to his side and stared at it. He and the Earthling were not so different, Firez thought. They both had questions that no one could answer. Where are my people, the Earthling had asked. Who were my people, Firez wanted to know. So many questions, and neither of them had answers. Firez gazed at his burnt hands and wondered how long it would take for the burns to heal. As soon as he was cured, he would return to the board. And he would seek out the Earthling again. Perhaps they could help each other with their questions.

Together, perhaps, they could find answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that I had to include a Galra chapter after all the feedback I got. Meet the newest character in this story, Firez, a Blade of Marmora agent! I hope that people like him, he's been fun to try and figure out.
> 
> If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to ask them! I will be happy to answer! Thank you all for reading!


	22. Colleen and Maria

Colleen

Colleen vacuumed the carpet again. This was the third time this morning. She polished the coffee table until the wood was as reflective as a mirror. Everything was dusted and wiped down and filled with the typical middle-class home decorations: the family photo wall, the vase full of flowers, the fall wreath on the front door, the Halloween placemat, the pumpkins set out next to the door. It looked like the creation of a team of interior designers preparing for a photo shoot. Except for the dog, Colleen thought as the lazy basset hound slowly clambered up onto the couch and shut his eyes for yet another nap. Good old Rover kept this place a home instead of a tomb.

Colleen crossed the living room to look at the family wall and looked over the photos. Akira said to pick the best ones of the bunch, the ones that displayed her family at their best. We have to garner as much sympathy as possible, Akira said, and photos will always speak more than words. It felt like her childhood all over again. Sit up straight, Colleen. Smile more, Colleen. Image is everything, Colleen.

Well, she had done her best, Colleen thought. Her family never was picture perfect. There was a wedding picture of her and Sam. They were posing on some courthouse steps, her in her green dress and Sam in a suit and polka dot bowtie. There was Matt when he was three, covered in mud and rolling in the dirt in what a more generous soul would have called a garden. There was Katie, age six, building a water bottle rocket with her father and brother. There was Matt in his Garrison uniform, posing next to Katie in her purple dress in front of the Kerberos shuttle. There was another picture of Matt in casual clothes, sitting on the floor of his dorm room. He and Shiro were playing a video game, and Malini was holding the camera up to take a selfie and catch the other two in it.

Colleen considered replacing the photograph. Matt was in the background in this photo. His glasses reflected the screen in front of him and hid his eyes, making him look more than a little terrifying. Both he and Shiro were glaring at the screen. Malini’s face was slightly blurry, as if she was moving the camera when she took the photo. None of them were in uniform. This was as far from perfect as Colleen could imagine.

But it was real. There was Matt, focusing so intently on winning that he was leaning and holding the controller at an angle. Shiro’s lips were so tightly pressed together they looked like a thin line instead of lips. And Malini’s little smirk was so lively! Her brown eyes twinkled with excitement, and her dark eyebrows were slightly arched upwards. Her expression seemed to say “can you believe these two?” This picture showed just a sliver of Matt, of who he was and everything that meant. Yes, he was a brilliant engineer and a capable Galaxy Garrison graduate. Yes, he was a great scientist and explorer like his father- but Matt was also once a teenage boy with friends and a life, who liked playing video games and eating peanut butter cookies and sleeping in. Matt was a boy who walked the dog and adored his baby sister and once got lost at the planetarium because he fell asleep during a field trip. Matt was once a normal boy.

Sometimes people needed to remember that, under the uniform and speeches of heroism and sacrifice, Matt Holt and Takashi Shirogane were young men with lives and interests. They were people, not icons to drag out when someone needed to make a speech. Well, Colleen thought, she’d make them remember exactly who her son was. 

Thinking of Matt and Shiro made Colleen think of Malini, and she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. Malini had continued to text her, and Colleen was happy to talk to her son’s friend, but some of the texts had become more guarded of late. Colleen worried. What sort of mess had Malini tangled herself in, that she was afraid to speak with her friend’s mother? Colleen read over the latest text from several days ago.

“I’ve was put on sick leave for three days because I passed out at the work site last week.” Malini had said, adding a little grumpy face to the text. “My mom won’t stop calling me.”

“Mothers do that.” Colleen had replied. “And you passed out? Did you drink enough water? Was it heat exhaustion? Did you lock your knees?”

“I was just tired and stood up too fast.” Malini texted quickly. “Professor Montgomery won’t take any chances, though. He’s talking about blood tests and iron deficiencies, driving me crazy!”

“Just rest.” Colleen advised. “And don’t go sneaking out to do anything! If you have to rest, you will get some rest!”

“My coworkers are keeping two pairs of eyes on me. I’m not going anywhere, Mrs. Holt.” Malini replied. “So I’ve just been looking through Keith’s notes while laying out on a cot. It’s been a bit of a downer.”

“Malini, if you need someone to talk to I’m always available.” Colleen had texted, but she had no reply. While she didn't want to panic or overreact, Colleen couldn't deny that she was more than a little worried. Malini is a smart girl, she told herself. She’s probably just keeping a low profile right now. Resting, like she said she would.

Colleen checked the time. In an hour she would have to go to the airport to pick up Maria and her husband. The two managed to book tickets, and Colleen offered up her guest room for their stay. Akira was going to drive up tomorrow and stay with his son and daughter in law for the week. Mark was flying in tomorrow morning with his wife and his sisters in law. Colleen looked forward to meeting all of them face to face, and seeing her friends again. Email, video chats, and phone calls were never a substitute for a face to face conversation.

“Might as well check in on Malini. I have time.” Colleen told herself, typing out a quick text and sending it off. “Hello, Malini! Matt’s mom here, just checking in to see how you’re feeling!” She stuck the phone back in her pocket and paced around her living room. Ten steps across in front of the fireplace, ten steps back. One, two, three, four- should she clean the carpet again? Rover shed a lot. Eight, nine- was there enough food in the fridge? God she hoped there was enough food in the fridge. Three, four, five- the phone buzzed and Colleen breathed a sigh of relief before tugging it out of her pocket to look at the message from Malini. Not a message, but a video call! Colleen accepted it right away.

“Hi, Mrs. Holt.” Malini whispered hastily. Her hair was in a thick braid, and strands of her hair were falling out of the braid and sticking to her dark skin. Her brown eyes flickered away from the phone and out towards the distance.

“Malini?” Colleen couldn't see much beyond Malini’s face, but the light was vaguely yellow and she looked like she was hunched over. Hiding.

“I’m in the bathroom.” Malini confessed. “In hospice. It's a camper that’s staffed by a nurse and has a first aid kit but still. She’s on lunch break and the bathroom was the only private place I could find.”

“What’s wrong? Do you need someone to pick you up?” Colleen asked.

“No, I’m fine. Getting daily check ups with the nurse because I fainted.” Malini laughed, but something about that laugh felt forced. “Otherwise I’m- I’m doing okay.”

“Malini-”

“Really! It was just a surprise, you know? I’m not exactly delicate. Kind of scrambled my brain, I’m still a bit shaken up.” Malini still sounded strained. “But I’m getting off track. I needed to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Colleen asked.

“You should see how long the Kerberos shuttle’s radio transmissions kept broadcasting.” Malini said somewhat cryptically.

“Mark’s been looking into it.” Colleen replied.

“So you know that the official Galaxy Garrison timeline doesn't match.” Malini confirmed. “You know that radio didn’t break.”

“Malini, what are you saying?” Colleen asked, but she already knew the conclusion Malini was edging towards, one that they had all concluded themselves after Mark sent them his latest calculations and conclusions.

“The shuttle didn't crash. They landed safely.” Malini snorted. “Pilot error and mental mistakes, my ass!”

“Agreed.” Colleen said dryly. “Though I think you want to tell me something else.”

“I think Matt and Shiro and Dr. Holt ran into something, Mrs. Holt.” Malini said, her expression suddenly grim. “Or someone.”

“If you say aliens-”

“I’m not saying it was aliens!” Malini said hastily with a nervous laugh. “But Mrs. Holt, something really weird is going on. And I can't say more than that without being deemed a security risk.”

“So you know something.” Colleen couldn't believe it. Or, more to the point, she really didn't want to believe there was a giant government conspiracy hiding her son and husband’s fates from her. But hadn't her head already made that conclusion? It made sense. Maybe it was her heart that didn't want to believe that her Matt and Sam were floating around in space, having died a slow, painful death as their systems shut down, as organs failed, as-

Stop being morbid, Colleen told herself.

“Malini, what do you know?” Colleen asked.

“I have theories. Theories that need evidence.” Malini said firmly. “And I can't tell you or anyone anything else before I get my proof.”

“But you think you can get proof without getting caught?” Colleen whispered. Malini’s grim expression shifted slightly. She was smiling now, but it was a smile with no lightness in it. Malini smiled with a dogged determination that seemed more angry than happy.

“I know I can. And if I do get caught, I’m not going to disappear. I’m indispensible.” Malini said softly. There was some muffled sound, and Malini lowered her voice to a whisper. “Got to go, nurse is back from lunch and she’s doing a blood draw to make sure I’m not anemic or something- bye!” And the call ended. Colleen tucked her phone back into her pocket and tried to breathe normally.

Something was up. Malini knew something and she wouldn't (most likely couldn't) say anything about it. Radio signals- Mark said the transmissions kept coming, even after the crash on Pluto’s moon was supposed to have happened. Even accounting for the distance the communications had to travel, the radio signals kept coming until they just disappeared without a trace.

“Nothing disappears without a trace.” Colleen said out loud. “Nothing just vanishes.” Colleen hoped that Malini knew what she was doing, that she would remain safe as she looked for her proof. Colleen hoped she was successful. Colleen hoped she didn’t get caught. At least I’ll have something to tell the others when they arrive.

Arrive. Airport! Colleen glanced to the clock hanging in the kitchen and hurriedly shoved on a jacket and grabbed her purse from its hook in the hallway. She’d make it in time, Colleen knew, but traffic could be bad. Colleen jumped into her car, started the engine, and backed out of the driveway before heading out to the airport. 

Maybe she’d be there early, but Colleen couldn’t stand to stay alone in the house any longer.

 

Maria

 

Plane flights were much more pleasant when taken with someone else, Maria thought. She had spent more than forty years never setting foot on a plane, and in the past several months she had been on a plane not once, not twice, but now three times! She felt well traveled and strangely sophisticated. Maria reached over and squeezed Jorge’s hand. He squeezed back, a little gesture of support that steadied her nerves.

“It will be nice to see Colleen and the others again.” Maria whispered. “You’ll like them.”

“I’m sure I will. Though I don’t quite understand why we had to bring a photo album.” Jorge replied, gesturing to the bag Maria shoved under the seat in front of her. Maria shrugged.

“Akira said that the interviewer would want pictures of Lance and the family. I thought it would be fun to look through some and figure out which ones to use.” Maria suggested. Jorge shifted in his seat and sipped on his cup of water the stewardess gave him. The pilot announced that they would be landing in thirty minutes, that the weather was partially cloudy, and the temperature was 60 F.

“I see that you brought your recipe book.” Jorge said.

“Colleen and I wanted to swap recipes. I do the same with Adriana and Clara, just Colleen and I live far away.” Maria replied a little defensively. Packing her recipe collection was not silly! She knew the main reason they came was to give an interview and draw attention to their missing son, but Colleen was her friend! And Maria had a feeling that Colleen needed a friend right now.

“You are a good friend.” Jorge said, because Jorge always seemed to know the right thing to say and when to say it. More importantly, he seemed to know when it was best to say nothing at all, to let people have their words and feelings and let it sit like a stone in water. Jorge was very good at letting things breathe and sit. Maria knew she tended to prod and pick at and coddle, and Jorge was the one who held her back so she didn't smother.

“Colleen’s very nice. She only seems intimidating, but she is a very nice woman!” Maria said as the plane began its descent. “Like Akira. He only seems intimidating because of all the things he’s done, but he is rather funny! I think he enjoys unsettling people.”

“And Mark?”

“Mark is a bit scatterbrained.” Maria confided to her husband. “Brilliant, but he gets lost in his work. I think you will like him.”

“I wish the circumstances were better.” Jorge muttered. Maria squeezed his hand tightly and waited for the plane to land and the staff to allow for deboarding. They waited for old ladies and old men to shuffle out of the plane, then families with small children were quickly ushered out. More than a few irate businessmen and women softly grumbled about the wait while a young man tried to soothe the yowling cat inside his soft carry on case. The cat swiped an orange paw out out at him, catching some of the man’s red-gold hair in its claws.

“When we find Lance and the others, we should make sure we celebrate together. Visit, hold parties.” Maria said, forcing herself to be optimistic. They’d find Lance and his friends, and they would all be fine. They had no proof that they were hurt or harmed, no evidence that they were dead, so it was still very possible that her boy and all the cadets were still alive.

“I don’t think our house can fit so many visitors.” Jorge replied as the people in front of them began to move and unload their luggage from above them.

“Your mother has spare bedrooms.” Maria pointed out as Jorge shuffled out into the aisle and grabbed their extra carry ons. Maria followed behind him as they exited the plane and slowly made their way past the security checkpoint.

“So does yours.” Jorge said, and Maria shuddered to think of putting her son’s friends and families, her own friends, in her mother’s home. Mama and Papa would keep them awake all night demanding stories.

“We’ll make room.” Maria decided. “Lance’s friends can stay in his room-”

“Diego will be thrilled.” Jorge muttered.

“-We can pull out the couch, and cover the porch with netting.” Maria continued, pushing past crowds to get to the main terminal and baggage claim. “It will be nice.”

“You just want to throw a party.” Jorge said accusingly, but he was smiling at her. Maria smiled back.

“Yes. I think after all this is over, we all deserve a party.” Maria murmured. “But first we have to find our children."

They walked through the checkpoint hand in hand, and Maria scanned the crowd of people for Colleen. There were drivers holding signs for other passengers, children eagerly waiting for family members, reunions going on all around them. The man with the cat was enthusiastically greeted by a rather stern looking man in black. The cat was still yowling in displeasure. There were more people, so many comings and goings, then- there! Colleen stood at the edge of the crowd, her golden brown hair gleaming in the light. She was wearing a bright green puffy down vest over her black turtleneck, and she looked far more casual than she normally appeared. Maria waved to get her attention.

“Jorge! There she is!” Maria said excitedly, pulling her husband along as she jogged over to Colleen, who finally saw them and waved. Her smile seemed tired, but she looked happy to see them both.

“Maria!” Colleen called out. “It’s good to see you!” Maria threw her arms out and gave Colleen a big hug, and Colleen returned it.

“Colleen! I hope you weren’t waiting too long.” Maria said brightly as she pulled away.

“No, not at all.” Colleen replied. “I hope your flight was comfortable.”

“We were fine.” Maria said, and she tugged her husband forward. “Colleen, this is my husband, Jorge. Jorge, this is my friend Colleen Holt.” Jorge seemed a little reluctant. Shy, Maria thought with some fondness. She was always the open, friendly one, and Lance inherited the extrovert spirit from her. Jorge, though, was always shy and easily overwhelmed by crowds.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. Maria has told me so much about you, Mr.- Jorge.” Colleen said politely, taking Jorge’s hand and shaking it. “We’ll get your bags and get to my car, I’m sure it’s been a long flight for you.”

“Thank you.” Jorge said with some relief. Colleen led them through the airport, guiding them to baggage claim, then escorting them outside to the parking lot. Maria shivered and drew her blue sweater closer to her body. She hadn’t thought the air would be so cold! They piled into Colleen’s car and she backed out of her spot and headed down the road.

“Are you ready for the interview?” Colleen asked as she drove past trees and mountains. 

“I will be. I am nervous, though.” Maria confessed.

“We’ll get through this together. I promise.” Colleen said firmly. “All of us.”

“Yes. All of us.” Maria agreed, and Colleen drove them further into the mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to start pairing up character chapters now that everyone is grouping up again. The order of the character chapters will change as well, so next is a Malini and Firez chapter (for plot shaped reasons). 
> 
> Thank you all for reading and leaving comments! Feel free to ask any questions, and I'll do what I can to answer them! Thanks again!


	23. Malini and Firez

“Oh, look! Malini Patel, Junior Skate USA Finals, Short Program-” Malini heard the voice of her teammate echoing through the hall as she walked back from her last class in communications. It was the smaller boy, the engineer. Matt Holt.

“Matt, are you snooping again?” That was their other teammate, Takashi Shirogane. Shiro. Barely sixteen and already a legend in the making. Malini wished she could hate him for taking her top spot, but she could only stew in her jealousy because Shiro truly was that great, and he was kind enough to not rub his talent in anyone’s face.

“If it’s on the internet it’s not snooping.” Matt said defensively. “C’mon Shiro, you’re curious, aren’t you?” His tone was wily, appealing to Shiro’s own inquisitive nature. Malini stood outside their dorm room and listened in, too curious to stop herself. It’s about me anyways, Malini reasoned, so it isn't eavesdropping.

“Well, yes, but-” Shiro sputtered, but Matt interrupted him.

“But nothing! I’m playing this.” Matt declared, and the sound of an orchestra  
welling up in all too familiar strains filled the room and spilled into the hallways, and Malini could feel the biting cold of icy air on her skin and spandex clinging to her torso, she could feel the bandages on her feet and the spray of ice as she jumped- double toe, triple loop, triple flip- Malini burst into the dorm room faster than she ever remembered flying on the ice.

“Oh no. No you don't.” Malini demanded. “Turn that shit off right now.” There she was on Matt’s computer, dressed in her last skating outfit, her final performance, the last time she would ever be on the ice as a competitor, and it hurt. It hurt to see that dress, the pale purple blue fabric encrusted in crystals that Asha designed just for her, her hair swept back in a bun with small rhinestones glued to her dark hair with eyelash glue, the subtle makeup she worked so hard at perfecting because Ma never let her wear makeup unless it was a competition. It hurt to hear the music that Malini picked out just for this final performance, her goodbye to skating because space was what mattered more.

Space meant everything to her, but leaving the ice hurt.

“Malini, this is amazing.” Shiro said quietly. “I had no idea you skated.”

“Yeah, skated. Holt, turn it off.” Malini ordered. Gods it hurt to hear that word. Skated. Going into space would be worth it, Malini told herself. You can't pursue two dreams at once. And Asha’s a better skater anyhow. But it still hurt.

“Oh, it’s Holt now?” Matt asked. “And I thought we had just gotten on a first name basis.” But he paused the video, the point where Malini launched into her triple salchow and was about to drop into a flying sit spin.

“We did, but then you went and started digging up my past!” Malini exclaimed. “Why were you even looking?”

“We want to get to know you, Malini. You’re our friend.” Shiro said gently, always the peacekeeper, always the diplomat. Despite being upset, Malini felt herself calm down as Shiro talked. He had a gift for soothing people.

“Matt and I didn't mean to upset you, Malini. We didn't know it would.” Shiro added. “And I’m sorry we hurt you.” And Shiro was giving her that look, the “I’m sorry I made you sad” look that Malini couldn't stay angry at. If someone weaponized that look there would be world peace. No one on Earth could stand against Shiro’s soft, sympathetic gaze.

“Apology accepted.” Malini replied. “I- well, I guess I can't expect you guys not to look me up online. It’s not like that was hidden or something.” 

She felt more than a little foolish for her outburst now. Her teammates were more than willing to share their own lives with her. Matt constantly babbled about his baby sister, and Shiro always spoke in worshipful tones about his grandfather. Malini edged into the boy’s shared dorm room and took a seat on a wooden desk chair. Shiro’s chair, Malini realized. Matt’s was covered in his spare uniforms.

“I can't compete in figure skating anymore.” Malini informed them. “That was my last competition. I got silver.” It wasn't enough to make an international competition, but it was a fine end to a career. A career that never got started.

“Did you get injured?” Matt asked.

“No.” Malini sighed and curled up on the chair, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I just can't do Galaxy Garrison and figure skating. I had to choose.” And her choice was space. It would always be space.

“Ah.” Shiro said softly, and that was all that needed to be said. They had all given up something to be here: time with family, time for other pursuits, sacrificing other dreams to chase this one dream: the dream of going into space.

“I skated to a medley by this one composer, Holst. It’s called The Planets.” Malini finally said. “My sister designed that outfit. It represents Neptune.”

“The crystals are for the ice storms, then?” Shiro guessed. Malini nodded.

“Yeah. We had fun making that.” Malini sighed. “It’s really fresh, you know? I could just quit and go back to the ice if I wanted. I could join in on this season. I have time.”

“Do you want to?” Matt asked.

“No.” Malini said immediately. “Not if it means giving up space.” And it was true. She couldn't give up now, not when she was here!

“And besides, I have you guys now. No one else really got why I needed to go here before I met you two.” Malini explained, and she felt better. A lot better, like a big weight in her heart had dropped away.

“When you feel like it, when we’ve got leave, we can go to an ice rink.” Shiro suggested. “And you can show off for us. Teach us what you know.”

“I’ll even attempt to do something athletic.” Matt offered. “Just for you.”

“Thanks, guys.” Malini whispered. This was what friendship was. This was what it was like, to have friends who understood her completely. This was what it meant to belong. She smiled at her friends, the two people who understood her best-

“Malini.” A voice echoed in the room, but Malini was looking at Shiro and Matt, young and alive and here, right in front of her eyes.

“Malini.” The voice insisted, louder now. Malini knew that voice, she was certain of it. The edges of Matt and Shiro’s dorm room started blurring, their bodies and faces grew more distant- don’t go, Malini wanted to scream. Don’t leave me behind again!

“Wake up, Malini!” The voice said again, and Malini opened her eyes.

She was in the camper trailer, her camper trailer. She stared up at the metal ceiling, counting the little metal rivets. One, two, three, four- she was dreaming. Remembering, Malini supposed. That conversation between her, Matt, and Shiro happened nearly ten years ago when they were fresh faces in Galaxy Garrison. It was years ago. Malini blinked once, twice, three times before hoisting herself up on the fold out bed. The covers fell around her waist as she sat up. Haru stood in front of the kitchen counter at the right of her bed. He held out her phone and gestured with his free hand to a glass of water someone set out on the counter.

“Alexei is already suiting up for tent duty. We’re officially on the clock in an hour.” Haru said quietly. “Your mother just called. Again.”

“Oh, Ma.” Malini sighed, and she reached for the phone. Five missed calls. How long had she been asleep? She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and checked the time. Ten in the morning. Ma always did get up early. She would have to get up, get dressed, brush her hair before she dared to chat with her mother. Ma would scold her if she looked tired or messy. She would already scold her for not looking her best. Nothing would be good enough, not for Ma.

“Malini, I know that Professor Montgomery and the higher ups want you to try what you did with the ship again today.” Haru said. “But if you don’t feel up to it, you can say no.” Malini blinked, clearing her head, and looked up at Haru. His normally calm, blank expression was gone. His brows were furrowed, he was frowning, and there were circles under his eyes. He’s worried, Malini thought. He’s noticed that I haven’t gotten much sleep, he saw how freaked out this shit made me, and now Haru’s worried. Guilt gnawed at Malini’s stomach. Haru shouldn’t worry about her. No one should have to worry about her.

“No, no.” Malini replied quickly. “I’m going to do it. I can handle it, it isn’t going to kill me.” She was going to be fine.

“We don’t know that.” Haru insisted. “It may have just been good luck.”

“It wasn’t luck.” Malini whispered. Having her mind hijacked wasn’t a pleasant experience, but whoever was on the other end didn’t intend to harm her. It scared her a good deal, but she was fine. She was fine because he didn’t want to hurt her. He had been as confused and horrified as she was. He was also insatiably curious about her, about Earth, about everything that she knew.

Malini could work with this.

“Look, I need to do this.” Malini said softly. “But I also need you and Alexei to drag me back if I go too far.”

“This is about Shiro and Matt, isn't it?” Haru asked.

“Yeah.” Malini replied.

“You sound crazy.” Haru said flatly. “Insane, even.”

“I feel crazy, man.” Malini sighed. “But I have to try. I won't be able to let it go until then.” Malini dragged herself out of bed and stumbled over to the kitchen counter. She pulled out a coffee mug from the cabinet. It was one of Haru’s mugs, which had an arrow pointing up and the words “A Rocket Scientist” printed underneath it. Malini filled the cup with water and set it in the microwave. Then she bent down and searched for her tea. No loose leaf today, she thought a little sadly. No time for it. So she grabbed a little packet of black tea, dropped it in the mug when the timer went off, and rummaged through the cutlery to grab a spoon and mash the bag against the ceramic.

“I don’t approve.” Haru stated. “I think what you’re planning is stupid and dangerous. Dangerously stupid, even. But-”

“But?” Malini asked.

“But I know that you would not put yourself at risk over nothing.” Haru reluctantly admitted. “I know you would not sacrifice yourself if you didn’t know you could get something out of it.”

“So you’re letting me try?” Malini pressed. “You’re letting me try again?”

“I’m not letting you do anything.” Haru countered. “I’m just not stopping you.” Haru walked to the door of the camper and opened it, letting morning sunlight pour through the dark camper. He turned back to face Malini, who was still standing by the counter sipping on her tea.

“Call your mother, then meet up with us at the tent. We get started in an hour.” Haru repeated, and he shut the camper door.

Malini drank her tea, then went to her bag of clothes and took off her pajamas. She pulled on jeans and socks, laced up her sneakers, shrugged on a sports bra and then a grey v-neck cotton shirt, and tied her hair back in a tail. She had to be comfortable for work today. Today they were going to try what she had accidentally unlocked on the alien ship once again. Professor Montgomery and other Garrison officials had already tested the system with volunteers, but no one could get it to work the way Malini had. Whatever biological signal the ship read, it worked for Malini and no one else. No one else who tried it, Malini thought. Haru and Alexei refused to touch the middle panel on the ship’s dashboard, and they weren’t the only ones. Only a select few people dared to volunteer.

“I better call Ma.” Malini muttered, pressing a button and letting her phone ring. Ma answered on the second ring, her face filling the screen as she answered. Her makeup was perfect as always, Malini noted, from her perfectly applied lipstick to her perfectly groomed eyebrows. Ma was like Asha: their appearance was always perfect.

“Malini! You ignored my calls!” Ma wailed.

“No, Ma. I was asleep. I was working late last night.” Malini explained. “I’m sorry I missed you.”

“You and Asha always ignore me! Your poor mother!” Ma replied, her perfect eyebrows furrowing and her mouth turning down in the all too familiar pout she always used when she was disappointed and upset.

“Asha’s just got back from her honeymoon.” Malini said. “She and Robert are probably settling back into their apartment, Ma.” Ma called for a reason, Malini told herself. Ma never just calls to chat. She always has a reason, even when she buries the reason under her “woe is me” speeches. She called for a reason, so hear her out.

“Your sister could visit!” Ma pouted. “Or at least call!”

“So can you.” Malini pointed out. “Phones work both ways.”

“A mother shouldn’t have to chase after her children.” Ma sniffed. “But I called because of your Grandmother.”

“Baba’s ma or yours?”

“Your father’s mother.” Ma confirmed. “She was quite upset about something, insisted that I send you some dusty old box in storage, something that belonged to her father that belonged to his- whatever it is it is ancient and she insists on you having it. I don’t see why you need it, you haven’t a place to put it and Asha’s the eldest-”

“What is it?” Malini asked, cutting her ma’s rambling off. Of course she would think Asha should have whatever it is, Malini thought. The anger she had felt at always being second best in the family was an old wound, one that had mostly healed up because Asha never held with competition. We are very different people, Malini, Asha would say. We share blood and a love for skating, but we are our own people. I want a sister, not a rival. Asha’s words always stuck with Malini. We are our own people.

“She wouldn’t let me look.” Ma replied. “Just insisted I send it to you. What’s your address?”

“You’ll have to send it to the town, we’re camping out in the middle of nowhere.” Malini said. “I’ll text you the address of the post office. But you really don’t know?”

“No. And what’s all this about you fainting? Have you not been taking care of yourself?” Ma asked, squinting her dark eyes and frowning. “Malini, you have no makeup on!”

“Ma, I’m in the desert looking at rocks.” Malini lied, and she couldn’t feel too guilty about the lie because the truth would have sent Ma into hysterics. “The lizards aren’t going to care if I have mascara on.”

“The boys will!” Ma insisted.

“Ma!”

“I know you loved your pilot boy, what was his name-”

“Ma, no.” Malini couldn’t believe she was hearing this. Not right now. Not even Ma could be this graceless. But she was.

“And that engineer was another possibility-” Ma continued.

“Ma, I am not hearing this right now.”

“But you really should try and get out more. Meet more people. More boys.” Ma finished her thought with a bright, utterly clueless smile. How was it that her quiet, observant Baba married Ma? How on Earth had Ma gone through life without getting slapped in the face for her utter lack of tact?

“Mother! What do you think Shiro, Matt, and I were?” Malini managed to ask, though she dreaded the answer.

“I am just saying you don’t have to live forever alone because you lost your boyfriends!” Ma declared.

“Ma!” Malini wailed, and she was certain that by now her entire face was redder than a strawberry. “They were like brothers to me! I can’t believe you think I was- that’s like incest!”

“Oh.” Ma sighed. “Well, you should find someone. Boyfriend, even girlfriend- you shouldn't be alone.”

“Ma, what is this really about?” Malini asked. The boyfriend talk was a common one she received ever since she was eighteen, but Malini never thought her mother would be so… accepting? No, wrong word. It was just strange that Ma didn't seem to care who was Malini’s romantic interest so long as she had one.

“Your Father and I aren't getting younger, Malini. We just want you to be happy.” Ma said, and her voice sounded shaky like she was about to cry. “And you still seem so determined to launch yourself into space even after what happened to that shuttle-”

“Ma?”

“If you just met a nice boy and settled down you’ll be here on Earth and safe!” Ma wailed.

“Ma.” Malini said softly. “I’m not going anywhere right now. There’s no new shuttle program, and I’m not even a top pilot candidate.” And the Garrison wasn't about to let her go when she was the only known person who could operate the alien ship. Galra ship. It was a Galra ship, not that she exactly knew what a Galra was.

“But you’re all alone out there!” Ma said with a little sniffle. Ma was close to tears again. The problem with her mother, Malini thought, was that she really did feel all her emotions. She never meant to manipulate or be cruel. She was simply thoughtless and spoke her mind without realizing how much it would hurt someone else. She did care, she just showed it in odd ways at bad times. Like calling at ten in the morning to demand that her daughter date someone, anyone, so she wasn’t alone in the world.

“It’s okay, Ma.” Malini said, and she realized it was the truth. “I’m not alone. I have my friends and coworkers, and family is just a phone call away. I’m not alone.” And somewhere in the depths in uncharted space, there was an alien who she was going to try and communicate with once again. Malini knew that she, that all of Earth, was not alone.

“Look, Ma, I’ve got to get to work. I’ll call you and Baba later.” Malini promised. “Later today, okay?”

“Yes, fine. I won't keep you.” Ma said. “I love you, you know that, right?”

“Yes, Ma. I know.” Malini replied. “Bye. Love you too.” When Ma ended the call Malini set her phone on the counter and held her head in her hands.

“Fuck.” Malini said quietly. “Fuck.” Cursing brought her a strange sense of catharsis. She had thought that if she kept quiet about her job and her worries, her family would believe that everything was fine. That she was fine. Somehow they knew that nothing was fine, that everything was screwed up, and the only thing Malini could think to say was the f-bomb. Better to say something than nothing at all, Malini thought, and she left the camper, locking the door behind her.

She suited up in silence. No one else was in the little room. They were all probably on the ship waiting for her to arrive, Malini thought. Waiting for miracles and greatness to happen, for lightning to strike twice. Malini had thought about how the ship worked, how it functioned, she thought about the little bits of information she gleaned from the alien when they had a mental showdown in her head. What were the chances that Malini would come into contact with the same alien? What were the chances that anything would happen at all?

“We’ve just got to try.” Malini told herself. She knew she would have official questions and tasks given to her by the Garrison, but Malini had her own plans. You better give me what I want Mr. Alien, Malini thought, because I’m not letting go until then. Malini zipped up her white coverall and put her hair in the hair net, then stepped through into the main tent. She walked up the ship’s ramp in the back and entered the bridge of the ship.

The bridge was crowded with several upper Garrison officials. Professor Montgomery stood nearby, looking surprisingly somber. Haru and Alexei stood next to the pilot’s seat, and they both looked rather apprehensive. Malini felt apprehensive. She was not ready for today, not if she was going to be observed by so many strange eyes. She simply wasn’t ready.

“What is your plan for today, Patel?” Professor Montgomery asked politely.

“Me?” Malini squeaked out. “I’m in charge?”

“As you were the one who made first contact, it’s been decided that you will be leading this exercise.” One of the officials, a man Malini didn’t even recognize, said. He sounded bored, as if he didn’t expect anything to come from this. He sounded like he thought all of this was a waste of his time. 

Time to prove you wrong, Malini thought grimly. Time to prove you all wrong.

“First things first.” Malini said decisively. “The ship connects with the pilot’s genetic code. But the pilot risks being completely overpowered by the ship if they aren’t grounded.” She had been thinking about this problem for days. The alien on the other end of the connection had far more experience with this technology than her. He only panicked when Malini went on the offense. He only panicked because she was unpredictable. Otherwise he would have gotten the upper hand in their encounter. Malini didn't have experience under belt. She didn't have hours of training with this technology. So she would have to develop a new technique and play catch

“Which is what happened last time.” Alexei supplied helpfully.

“And your plan to prevent the ship from taking over is?” A woman asked dryly.

“I need something to ground myself here. Last time I was so fixated on the ship that I left myself open to other influences.” Malini said firmly. She had several ideas for grounding herself in the present time, but they were only ideas. If my ideas don’t work I won’t be allowed to continue working on this project, Malini thought. If she failed she would lose her place here. She would lose her last chance to chase down Shiro and Matt. She would lose her last chance to look for Keith.

Malini could not let herself fail.

“I need everyone working with me to remain alert to any changes on the ship. Document everything. Everyone here to observe, stand behind the line marked out in yellow electrical tape.” Malini ordered. People scrambled to their places. The Garrison officials stood behind the tape, Haru stood to the left of the pilot’s chair, a small tablet in his hands ready to use. Alexei had a camera, ready to take pictures when the ship started up. Professor Montgomery stood next to the card table as their observer.

“Haru, I’m going to need you to start that playlist we crafted.” Malini told him. Haru held up his tablet so she could see that he had the first song loaded up and ready to go.

“The first thing we're going to do is reestablish contact.” Malini told her team, ignoring the professor and the Garrison observers. This is a normal day at work, and you will behave normally. But she couldn’t behave normally, not when this was her one chance to find her friends. Her space family.

“You mean establish contact with the alien presence.” Professor Montgomery supplied helpfully. “Ulaz?”

“No. Ulaz was the person who sent the ship, but the alien I connected with was a different person.” Malini explained. “If we’re lucky we can contact him. If not, Alexei and Haru will record all the data as I try to gain control of the ship.” Malini took this time to wrap a length of rope around her waist and tie it firmly.

“Ms. Patel, what is that?” One of the Garrison officers, a woman with blond hair, asked. Her voice was stern.

“If I am overwhelmed we don't know what could happen. Alexei will pull me out of the chair so he does not risk his mind being compromised by our alien… friend.” Malini replied flippantly. The officer looked slightly horrified.

“Is this safe?” Malini heard the officer whisper to one of her colleagues.

“Most definitely not.” Malini murmured to herself. She took a seat in the pilot’s chair. It was still too big for her small frame. She felt like a child in this chair, and she was certain she looked foolish. This isn't foolish, and I will not fail, Malini told herself. This is going to work. She was going to make it work.

“Alexei, camera ready?” Malini hoped that Alexei was ready. In a few moments he would be very, very busy.

“Yes.” Alexei confirmed.

“Professor Montgomery, you set up your recording systems?” Malini asked.

“It’s already running.” He replied. “We’re waiting for you.”

“Haru, start the music.” Malini ordered. A haunting orchestral piece started to play, the faint sound of a women’s choir echoing in the ship. Malini couldn't help but smile. Holst. The playlist started with Holst. It seemed appropriate. Malini peeled off her glove and set her hand down on the panel, watching it and the rest of the lights on the ship went up. There was a faint electronic hum that sounded like the purring of a cat. The glass under her right hand was warm and pulsed faintly. Malini felt herself calm down as she listened to Holst and the glass on the control panel pulsed. It will be okay. It was going to be okay. As the Garrison officials whispered to each other and Alexei took pictures as Haru took down notes on his tablet, Malini sat back in the pilot’s chair (her chair now) and smiled.

“Hold on tight.” Malini whispered to herself. “We’re coming for you.”

Firez

The empath board lit up under Firez’s hand once again. A moment later, the entire control panel burst into light and color and sound. Firez immediately tried to calm the machine. Off, he thought, turn off. Go to sleep. But it did not work. The panel continued to function. Perhaps it was at a slower pace than before, but it continued to work. Firez could not stop it.

“Firez, report.” Antok ordered from his position outside the control room. Firez sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair. Antok was more understanding of Firez’s abilities than other Blades, but he would not be pleased with what Firez was about to tell him. He would be disappointed.

“The human has returned to the ship.” Firez explained. “She is accessing the main components of the ship program. I have locked out communication signals to prevent the Galra from picking it up, but I fear that she will soon discover my barriers and start breaking them.” 

“The human can do that now?” Antok asked, disbelief coloring his voice. Firez gritted his teeth as the human pushed past one of his weaker barriers and started to root through the emergency pod’s flight records. There was no delicacy or elegance to her mental probing. She tore through the information like an enraged pack of yalmors.

“Yes. Yes she can.” Firez hissed as he threw up another barrier around the flight information, locking her out of that area of the ship. She refocused and forced her way into the ship’s functions. If she went any further she would activate the energy crystal to maximum power. She would be able to control the ship, and it would start flying. That could, would be dangerous. Without proper training, she would steer the pod into danger. Firez tried to focus on strengthening those barriers, but the human was tricksome. She returned to her original task of looking through the ship records. Firez could not keep her out.

Antok was saying something in the background, but Firez ignored it. It was difficult to hear what Antok was asking when Firez was concentrating on putting up as many barriers as he could think of. How had she so quickly mastered the tech that took him so many deca-phoebs to learn? How had she developed this willpower and concentration in such a short amount of time? How did a human with no training manage to learn so quickly?

You underestimated her and now you will suffer the consequences, Firez told himself grimly.

“I will have to engage her mind. I have to know how she is bypassing my mental barriers. If I know, then I can use my knowledge to stop her.” Firez explained quickly.

“Firez, that is too great a risk.” Antok exclaimed, but Firez knew he had to take any risk to prevent their discovery. This was what every Blade trained for- the chance to overthrow the Galra Empire and protect the Blade of Marmora from destruction. This was what Firez’s parents died for. Firez was ready.

“Knowledge or death, Antok.” Firez replied, and he dove into the link between him, the ship, and the human looking into the ship’s flight records. He had to stop her. He had to protect the Blades, he had to defend them from outsiders. If Zarkon found this human, generations of work would be undone in an instant. He would find her, through the human Zarkon would find the Blade of Marmora, and there would be one less force standing against the Galra Empire.

Firez could not let that happen.

The first thing Firez heard was music. The sounds of mournful singing and strange vibrations echoed through his head. Music. He rarely heard music in the base. There was no time for frivolity, and music distracted from meditation. But this was not true at all, Firez realized as his mind gently touched against the human’s consciousness. The music had given her a deeper focus. Music was her substitute for the intensive Galra pilot training, for meditation and deprivation and focus that was drilled into every potential pilot since they were pups. Yet it was music that kept the human grounded. How? Firez had to know, but he approached cautiously, all the more wary of the human’s intense focus and sudden mental strength. It is dangerous here, it is dangerous. Do not linger long because it is dangerous here, Firez.

“ _It’s hardly dangerous unless you make it dangerous._ ” A voice said. It was clear and bright, and it didn’t sound like any voice Firez had ever heard before. Antok’s voice was deep and hoarse, as if he were always sick. Kolivan’s voice was harsh, as if life’s hardships had fashioned his voice as it fashioned his form and personality. Jezra’s voice was as whispery as stiff fabric rustling against skin. Uncle Thace was collected and calm, always so calm. But this voice-

“ _You probably don’t speak English, I am such an idiot! I, uh- crap, Hindi’s going to be a flat out no, maybe you know Russian? No, that’s dumb. Greek? There was some Greek on this ship._ ” The voice sounded frustrated. It felt frustrated. Firez felt an anger and helplessness that was not his own as the voice rambled on, saying words that he didn’t understand and then groaning and calling itself an idiot. This is the human, Firez realized. The human female who was breaking through his barriers and taking control of the ship, the human who demanded answers, the human who was looking for something- this was her.

“ _I am wearing a translator. I understand most of your speech._ ” Firez explained, cutting off the human’s disjointed monologue. He felt her inner turmoil turn to shock, then pleasant surprise. Then, strangely enough, it turned back to anger.

“ _If you understand me, why didn’t you answer me? And I know this is the same alien, so don’t you dare say you don’t know what I’m looking for._ ” The voice demanded, and anger burnt through him like hot metal. There were more words, ones that Firez didn’t know that sounded sharp and were full of bitterness. 

“ _I do not know the humans you seek. I have never seen a human._ ” Firez replied. It was the truth. He had never seen a human, only heard of them. Thace had seen humans, and Ulaz had interacted with the Champion. 

“ _You are such a liar, asshole!_ ” The human retorted. “ _You know about humans, you have to have seen one!_ ” But Firez felt desperation under the human’s anger, and her insults did not hold the sting she meant them to.

“ _I don’t understand why you are angry._ ” Firez said, keeping his thoughts gentle. “ _I am not lying to you._ ”

“ _My friends are missing!_ ” The human explained, and her thoughts were a blur of images and sound. “ _They’re gone, weird shit happened, your buddy sent this ship here, kids went missing after your ship crash landed, there’s all these markings that are similar to these ancient carvings of a lion goddess-_ ” Firez saw faces, saw the escape pod. He saw a strange land of red and tan stone, he saw a white structure looming over the dirt, he saw a cave with an enormous hole that opened to the bright blue sky, and he saw carvings, carvings of lions on the walls of the cave.

“ _Lion?_ ” Firez asked, interrupting the human’s thoughts. “ _You have seen the Voltron Lions?_ ”

“ _You know about Voltron?The lions. What is it? Keith was looking for it, have you seen him? He’s about five feet ten inches, scrawny, dark hair, big sad eyes- he was looking for something, please, if you’ve seen him-_ ” Her desperation was so great that Firez felt himself getting sucked into her feelings even as she bombarded his mind with the images of the human she spoke of. The boy seemed small and vulnerable, his eyes far too old for his age, and Firez felt protective. No, it was the Earthling who felt protective of the boy. These were not Firez’s feelings, and he was nearly overwhelmed by the human’s desperation and sense of loss, all her regret and sorrow. He couldn’t help himself, and tried to send soothing feelings and his understanding towards the human. The human recoiled at the touch.

“ _What the fuck are you even doing?! I didn't ask you to start messing with my feelings!_ ” The human shrieked.

“ _You are upset. I wanted to-_ ” Firez didn't know what he had wanted to do, exactly. It was so natural for him, for all Galra, to share their emotions. They did not hide their feelings. Galra would control their feelings, but never hide. It was natural for Galra with empathetic abilities to reach out to other Galra, to soothe their hurts and create balance where there was none. What had he done wrong?

“ _You weren't invited, buddy._ ” The human’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “ _I’m not poking around in your head changing your feelings, so you don't get to do that with mine._ ”

“ _Ah. We are negotiating._ ” Firez replied. He understood negotiations well enough. He often had to negotiate with junk merchants. His empathic abilities and youth gave him a slight advantage in trade negotiations. He knew when he was being cheated, and when a trader gave him a good deal or fair price. 

“ _I thought we were just having a friendly conversation._ ” The human retorted. She was still being sarcastic.

“ _You do not seem friendly._ ” Firez said cautiously. He felt the human do the mental equivalent of pacing. Her mind felt caged in, as if she were holding herself back. It was just as well that she kept her distance, Firez thought. He may get lost in that mind. He could already feel the lure of knowledge, his cursed curiosity urging him forward. Just one look, just one more dive-

“ _Neither do you. Friends don't jump into each other’s head for fun._ ” The human declared. Fun? She thought this was a game to him? He did not play games. He never had. There was no time or use for games when there was a war to win.

“ _I do not do this for fun. It is important work._ ” Firez retorted. “ _You are entirely too close to our mission. You are a dangerous component thrown into our plans._ ”

“ _Our plans? What plans?_ ” The human asked.

“ _Do not look further into this ship. Destroy it. Cease all communication. Perhaps that will be enough to keep you safe._ ” Firez tried to retreat from the human’s mind. Tried and failed. She had walled him in, and he had been so fixated on their conversation, on continuing to hold his barriers on the ship, that he had not noticed.

“ _No, you don't get to be a cryptic piece of shit and run off again!_ ” The human exclaimed, and the connection changed. Firez felt the anger and determination, but then he realized the music changed as well. It was no longer soothing or haunting. It was a man’s voice, low and rough and crooning, but it was angry. So angry.

“ _You will explain yourself. You will answer my questions._ ” The human declared. “ _I’ve got time. I can wait._ ” 

“ _I do not have to explain anything to you, other than that you are meddling in business that does not concern you or your kind._ ” Firez retorted. Was this anger the human’s, or was it his own? He could no longer tell, and that frightened him. Control, he told himself. Control yourself.

“ _Your friend Ulaz landed the ship here. You were looking for Voltron. Answer my questions, and maybe I can share something I know._ ” The human’s tone shifted from demanding to persuasive. “ _We don’t have to get mad at each other. We can work together. You sent the pod here for a reason, maybe I can help you._ ”

“ _You know nothing._ ” Firez said automatically, but he could feel his hearts waver in their resolve. He could learn so much from this human. He could see a world untouched by Zarkon. He could see another world, and he had so rarely had that pleasure. He wanted it. He wanted it so desperately he knew the human could feel his curiosity and longing as fiercely as he did. Firez could not even bring himself to care that the human knew how conflicted he was. Let her know.

“ _Are you sure of that?_ ” The human asked softly. “ _I know you're looking for the lions. I know that you, or your people, have had contact with humans besides me. I know that four kids are missing and it has something to do with this Voltron. And I know that you and I are looking for something. There’s no reason for us to fight when we can help each other. So, what do you say?_ " 

Her offer hung between them, tempting Firez with all the possible futures it held. Cooperation. Allies. Partners. Firez’s gifts had given him insight that few could experience, but it had also meant that he had lived a private life. A sheltered life. It was for his safety and for the good of the Blades, but Firez longed for a chance to see the universe. He longed for a chance to do more than use his empathy to communicate with other Blades and control ships from a distance. Firez wanted more. He wanted to know more, and this human was offering him knowledge of an entire world. All it required was a little information, and it wasn’t much. 

“ _I will continue to keep much of the escape pod inaccessible._ ” Firez decided. “ _There are powers beyond your understanding at work-_ ”

“ _I think I can understand just fine._ ” The human replied. “ _Try me._ ”

“ _There is a war. The escape pod in your possession carried a pilot we hoped would find the Blue Lion of Voltron, a weapon that can turn the tide of this war. Zarkon and the Galra Empire, they would do anything to get a hold of Voltron._ ” Firez explained. “ _We can only delay his conquest. If he had Voltron, we could not even do that. He has conquered most of the known universe. He will come for you._ ”

“ _Is your pilot still on Earth?_ ” The human asked. “ _Can we help them find this weapon?_ ”

“ _He is long gone. We have heard that Voltron has been assembled. All the lions have been found._ ” Firez shared the information because it was no secret in the rest of the universe. Voltron had been found. Tracking down and marking the locations of the lions was no longer a task for the Blade of Marmora. Seeing to Zarkon’s downfall was their great goal now.

“ _So we won't be incurring Zarkon’s wrath if we decided to poke around inside the escape pod?_ ” The human asked.

“ _If he learns of where the blue lion was kept there is no guarantee that he will spare your planet. He never has, not in 10,000 decaphoebs._ ” Firez answered. He sent the human images of the universe, images of Galra war ships, tried to make her understand that this was war and that destroying the escape pod was for the best. He wanted to frighten her, just a little, but it did not seem to work. Firez tried harder and sent her more images: enslaved races, footage of gladiator battles, the remnants of destroyed planets. All these images of destruction and conquest and death, and Firez could only sit back and watch. He would have to live his life on this lonely base, being nothing more than support. He could do nothing! Nothing!

“ _How long lived are you aliens?_ ” The human asked. 

“ _It varies by species. We Galra can live around 100 decaphoebs. Zarkon is… unnatural._ ” Firez explained. “ _Please try to understand. I cannot let him discover your planet. It will lead back to us, and it will bring war to your section of the universe._ "

“ _So if you’re Galra and Zarkon’s Galra, are you… a resistance fighter? A rebel?_ ” The human seemed excited by the prospect. “ _I have so many questions._ ”

“ _As do I, but we must end this communication. You must stop prying into the escape pod’s higher functions. It cannot send out a signal to the Empire._ ” Firez said. Someone had to be responsible.

“ _Are we sending out signals now?_ "

“ _No. I can suppress the signal, and Zarkon almost exclusively uses drone pilots._ ” Firez explained, and he couldn’t help but let pride color his thoughts. “ _I am one of the few with the training and ability to use the empath board._ ”

“ _So that’s what this thing is called._ ” The human said with some amusement. “ _Sorry to burst your bubble, but I can use this little baby too._ ”

“ _You are as clumsy as a space caterpillar in gravity._ ” Firez retorted, and he sent the human an image of one of the pink, fuzzy creatures wiggling about on the ground, its eight stumpy legs frantically waving in the air. The human responded with the mental equivalent of laughter, ripples of surprised pleasure and amusement filling his mind.

“ _That’s adorable._ ” The human said. “ _Look, I think we can come up with an agreement, Mr. Rebel Hot Shot. We can trade information. I’ll disable any signal devices so this Zarkon won’t find the pod, and you and I can keep talking. I know you’re curious about my planet, and don’t try to deny it!_ ” The human added this hastily before Firez could issue a denial.

“ _I fail to see what we will gain from this communication._ ” Firez replied.

“ _I still have questions, okay? About Voltron and a bunch of missing humans. I think- I know you can help me. Help me find them, and I’ll talk to you about Earth. Maybe there’s something I can tell you that will help you defeat Zarkon._ ” The human offered.

“ _Unlikely._ ” Firez said flatly. A human holding the secret to defeating Zarkon seemed impossible. Zarkon’s reign extended so far into the past that it was difficult to comprehend of a time before Zarkon. What could a human do?

“ _Don’t be an arrogant asshole, we’ve been getting along so well._ The human chided. “ _Go on, ask me a question._ ”

“ _Where was the Blue Lion?_ ” Firez asked.

“ _In the desert, hidden in a cave. At least, that’s where I think it was. There was this enormous hole in the ceiling._ ” The human said promptly. “ _I also found evidence that my missing humans were poking around the lion before it disappeared._ ”

The missing humans were around the lions? What had Ulaz said about the former Champion, the human he sent back to his home planet? Had he some companions who retrieved him and brought him to the lion? Was it possible that Voltron was piloted by humans now? He would have to speak with his uncle. Thace would know. If he knew, then Firez could tell this human, and she would tell him about the world outside the Galra Empire. It seemed fair.

“ _Do we have a deal?_ ” The human asked.

“ _Yes._ ” Firez replied. “ _We have a partnership._ ”

“ _Nice to meet you, partner._ ” The human said, and her voice echoed through the . “ _My name’s Malini Patel. What’s yours?_ ”

“ _Hello, Malini Patel._ ” Firez replied. “ _My name is Firez. I hope we will work well together._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing the Malini and Firez chapter took much longer than I had anticipated! I am sorry for the delay!
> 
> If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I will be happy to answer them if I can!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm dipping my toes into writing for the Voltron fandom, and I hope this first chapter is acceptable! Thank you for reading.


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